Govt gives push for labour reforms
Published: Aug 09, 2017
By TIOLCORPLAW News Service
NEW DELHI, AUG 09, 2017: Continuing to protect a small aristocracy of industrial labour, the Ministry had reformed labour legislation during last three years to facilitate effective enforcement and also to enhance wage security, job security, social security and safety, health and working conditions for workers.
This information was given by Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya, Minister of State (IC) for Labour & Employment, in a reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, today.
The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, was amended by which the eligibility limit for payment of bonus was enhanced from Rs 10,000/- to Rs. 21,000/- per month and the Calculation Ceiling increased from Rs. 3,500/- to Rs. 7,000/- or the minimum wages.
The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Act, 2017, was introduced by enabling payment of Wages to employees by Cash or Cheque or crediting it to their bank account. Similarly, the Maternity Benefit Act, was amended in 2017 to increases the paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.
The Minister also informed that the Ministry had notified 'Ease of Compliance to maintain Registers under various Labour Laws Rules, 2017' on February 21, 2017 which had in effect replaced the 56 Registers or Forms under 9 Central Labour Laws and Rules made there under in to 5 common Registers or Forms.
A Model Shops and Establishments (RE&CS) Bill, 2016 was circulated to all States or UTs for adoption with appropriate modification. The said Bill inter alia provides for freedom to operate an Establishment for 365 days in a year without any restriction on opening or closing time and enables employment of women during night shifts if adequate safety provisions exist.
A category, Fixed Term Employment was introduced under Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 to impart flexibility to an establishment to employ people in case of Apparel Manufacturing Sector to meet the fluctuating demands of the sector due to its seasonal nature.
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 provides for complete ban on employment of children below 14 years in any occupation or process and the Employee Compensation (Amendment) Act, seeks to rationalize penalties and strengthen the rights of the workers under the Act.
