Labor Laws: Warm-Up

Amit is a Bus Conductor with the DTC. He could not come report for duty one day due to an emergency at home. He could not inform his Supervisor also. As a result, the bus scheduling got disrupted causing a chain reaction and inconvenience to passengers. The next day Amits Supervisor refused to allow him to resume his work. Instead, after asking him to wait for a couple of hours, the Supervisor handed to him a signed order dismissing Amit from service (the order was signed by the supervisor). Is it OK? Prabha has recently joined a BPO in Gurgaon as a CSR. From next week she has been asked to report for duty in the night shift from 10 pm to 6 am. Can this be done? Balwant is a Welder Grade I in the MUL factory at Manesar. His duty hours are from 8 am to 12 Noon and then again from 5pm to 9 pm. He, therefore, works for 8 hours during a day. Is this OK?

Labor Laws: Warm-Up

The Linesmen of BSES Rajdhani have gone on a flash strike. They have not given any notice. What action can management take? Does the Government have any role in this? Munnalal, a Messenger in Motherson Sumi Systems Limited assembly Plant in NOIDA, slapped his Supervisor one day. Other than slapping him back, what action can the Supervisor take against Munnalal? Mr Paranjpe is the Branch Manager of the SBI at Masoodpur. The normal office timings for the staff is from 10 am to 5 pm with 30 minutes lunch break. The bank stops all public dealing after 2 pm. However, with the increased competition in the banking sector, all the new banks have staggered working hours from 9 am to 9 pm. Mr Paranjpe wants to change the timings in his Bank also else he will lose all business. Can he change the timings? How? Can your employer sack you? How?

Labor Laws: Warm-Up

The Workers at the Honda-Siel factory in Gurgaon are very agitated regarding delays in the payment of their wages. Though they get their salaries every month, they sometimes get delayed beyond 10-15 days. The workers are not sure when they will receive their salaries. Can they do anything about it? V Subramanyam, Chargeman Grade III at the TATA Steel factory at Jamshedpur, while supervising pouring of hot metal into ladles, suffered severe burn injuries when the molten metal accidentally spilled over the floor. One such metal fragment pierced both the eyes causing complete blindness. The HINDALCO plant in Renukoot, UP, employs labour on contract for unloading of their Raw Materials from the Railway Wagons. These workers have been working at the plant for the last 9 years though they are on the rolls of a Contractor. Can these workers claim permanent employment with HINDALCO? What would be the implications? Why do we employ people on contract?

Classification of Labour/Employment Laws

Working Conditions (Safety, Health, Welfare, Working Hours etc) Factories Act (Railways, Mines, Dock & Port, Plantations, Shops & Establishments) Contract Labor Act Relationship Between Employers & Employees The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 The Trade Unions Act, 1926 The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 Wage Related The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 Social Security The Workmens Compensation Act, 1923 The ESI Act, 1948 The Gratuity Act,1972 The EPF & MP Act, 1952

Need

Relationship between labor and capital is that of partnership in maintenance of production and national economy Community as a whole, and employers, are responsible and obliged to protect the well being of workers and to secure to them their due share in the gains

Objectives
Protect the weaker section Mitigation of risks Strengthening the bargaining power of labor Avoid Industrial Disputes leading to Industrial Action Protect Women and Children from hazardous working processes and working conditions Compensation for loss of earning capacity Promote growth of national economy by striving for industrial harmony (and not peace!!)

Principles
Social Justice (Equitable distribution of profits and benefits and affording protection against harmful effects to safety, health, morality Constitution of India Justice-Social, Political, Economic) Social Equity (Changes in law due to changes in circumstances basis of social equity) International Uniformity (ILO, India a member) Basic Principles of ILO Policy making: Labor not a commodity to be bought and sold Freedom of expression and association Poverty, a danger to prosperity

National Economy

Constitutional Provisions
Fundamental Rights: Equality before Law Prohibition on grounds of religion, race, caste, gender, place of birth Equality of Opportunity in matters of employment Freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom to form associations Directive Principles of State Policy Welfare of People Means of livelihood Distribution of material resources And Many others

Labor Policy
State is the custodian of community welfare, catalyst for change Recognition of right to peaceful direct action Encouragement of mutual settlement, collective bargaining & voluntary arbitration Intervention in favor of weaker section Primacy to maintenance of industrial peace Ensuring fair wage standards Provision of social security Cooperation for enhancing productivity Enhancing the status of workers in Industry Tripartite Consultation

Recap
Real Life Applicability Names of important legislations and classification Need for Legislative measures Objectives of Labor Legislations Principles of Labor Legislation Constitutional Provisions Overall direction of Labor Policy

Next Class:  Factories Act Formation of Groups