Comprehensive Study Notes on Labour Equity, Legislation, and International Standards

Conceptual Framework of Equality, Equity, and Justice

Understanding Labour Equality involves a nuanced distinction between three core concepts: inequality, equity, and justice.

• Inequality: Defined as unequal access to opportunities for different individuals or groups.
• Equity: Involves providing custom tools and assistance that identify and address specific instances of inequality. It refers to an evenly distributed support system tailored to individual needs.
• Justice: This represents the highest level of intervention, where the system itself is fixed to offer equal access to both tools and opportunities for all.

Labour Legislation in the Indian Federal System

Under the Constitution of India, Labour is a subject located in the Concurrent List. This means both the Central Government and State Governments have the power to enact laws and policies regarding labour, though central legislation typically provides the overarching framework.

Categorization of Indian Labour Laws

Labour laws in India are broadly categorized based on their functional objectives: Regulative, Protective, Welfare, and Social Security.

Laws Related to Industrial Relations (Regulative)

• The Trade Unions Act, 1926: Provides for the registration and regulation of trade unions.
• The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946: Requires employers to define conditions of employment.
• The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947: Provides a machinery for the investigation and settlement of industrial disputes.

Laws Related to Wages (Protective)

• The Payment of Wages Act, 1936: Regulates the payment of wages to certain classes of employed persons.
• The Minimum Wages Act, 1948: Provides for fixing minimum rates of wages in certain employments.
• The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965: Provides for the payment of bonus to persons employed in certain establishments.

Laws Related to Specific Industries (Protective and Welfare)

• Factories Act, 1948: Comprehensive law for safety, health, and welfare in factories.
• Additional acts cover Plantations, Mines, Bidi and Cigar Workers, Dock Workers, and Cine Workers.

Laws Related to Equality and Empowerment of Women

• The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961: Regulates the employment of women for certain periods before and after child-birth.
• The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976: Provides for equal remuneration to men and women workers.

Laws Related to Deprived and Disadvantaged Sections (Protective)

• The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976: Abolishes the bonded labour system to prevent economic and physical exploitation.
• The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986: Prohibits the engagement of children in certain employments.

Laws Related to Social Security

• The Employees Compensation Act, 1923: Provides for payment of compensation for injury by accident.
• The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948: Provides for benefits in case of sickness, maternity, and employment injury.
• The Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952: Institutionalizes compulsory contributory fund for retirement.
• The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972: Provides for a scheme for the payment of gratuity to employees.

Laws Related to Employment and Training

• Includes laws governing Employment Exchanges and Apprentices.

Factors Shaping Labour Legislation in India

The development of labour laws in India is influenced by a diverse set of internal and external factors:

• Social and Economic Conditions: The prevailing material realities of the workforce.
• Nationalist Movements: Views expressed by important nationalist leaders during the freedom struggle.
• The Constitution of India: The foundational legal framework.
• International Labour Organization (ILO): International Conventions and Recommendations.
• United Nations: Human rights conventions and standards.
• Tripartite Deliberations: Sessions of the Indian Labour Conference (ILC) and the International Labour Conference.
• Judicial Pronouncements: Rulings from high courts and the Supreme Court.
• National Committees and Commissions:
  • First National Commission on Labour ($1969$) under Justice Gajendragadkar.
  • National Commission on Rural Labour ($1991$).
  • Second National Commission on Labour ($2002$) under Ravindra Varma.
  • National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) ($2009$) under Dr. Arjun Sengupta.

Actors and Institutional Machinery in Industrial Relations

Industrial relations function through the interaction of three main actors:

1. Employees: Represented by Trade Unions and Federations.
2. Employers: Represented by Employer Associations and Federations.
3. State (Government): Operates through three branches:
   • Legislature: To pass laws (supported by the Indian Labour Conference).
   • Executive: To implement laws and labour policy (supported by the Standing Labour Committee).
   • Judiciary: To adjudicate disputes.

Organized vs. Unorganized Sector

There is a sharp divide in the Indian labour market between organized and unorganized sectors:

Vision and Mission of the Labour Ministry

The Ministry focuses on strategic initiatives including:

• Eliminating Child Labour: Specifically from hazardous occupations through the National Child Labour Project (NCLP).
• Modernization: e-governance, computerization of databases, and website launching.
• National Employment Policy: Aims for employment growth combined with equity and distributive justice (inclusive growth).
• Safety: Improving safety conditions for all workers.
• Challenges: Globalisation trends, economic reforms, and a shortage of livelihood opportunities.

Constitutional Status of Labour

Fundamental Rights (Part III)

• Article $14$ and $16$: Equality before law and equality of opportunity in public employment.
• Article $19(1)(c)$: Right to form associations or unions.
• Article $21$: Right to life and personal liberty.
• Article $23$: Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour.
• Article $24$: Prohibition of employment of children (below $14$ years) in factories and hazardous work.

Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV)

• Article $38$: State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people; minimizing inequalities in income and status.
• Article $39$:
  • (a) Right to adequate means of livelihood.
  • (b) & (c) Ownership and control of resources distributed for common good; prevention of concentration of wealth.
  • (d) Equal pay for equal work for both men and women.
  • (e) Health and strength of workers and tender age of children not to be abused.
  • (f) Youth protected against exploitation and abandonment.
• Article $41$: Right to work, education, and public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, and sickness.
• Article $42$: Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.
• Article $43$: Securing a living wage and decent standard of life.
• Article $43\text{-}A$: Participation of workers in management of industries.
• Article $47$: Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and standard of living.

Note on Preamble: The Preamble secures Justice (Social, Economic, Political), Liberty, Equality (Status and Opportunity), and Fraternity.

National Commission on Labour (NCL) Highlights

First NCL ($1966$)

• Chairman: Justice P.B. Gajendragadkar.
• Issues: Recruitment practices, training, working conditions, welfare, housing, social security, and wage policy.
• Outcome acts amended/enacted:
  • Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, $1970$.
  • Equal Remuneration Act, $1976$.
  • Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, $1986$.

Second NCL ($2002$)

• Chairman: Shri Ravindra Varma.
• Recommendations:
  • Proposed $5$ categorizations of labour laws.
  • Uniform definitions for "worker" and "appropriate government."
  • Consolidation into a "Law on Labour Management Relation."
  • For strike in essential services, a strike ballot requires support from $51\%$ of workers followed by compulsory arbitration.

Criticisms of Current Labour Laws

• Multiplicity: Too many laws ($44$+ central laws).
• Anachronism: Laws are too old and rigid.
• Complexity: Confusing terminology and excessive procedural elements (registers, notices).
• Inefficacy: Punishment is often meagre; coverage is limited.

The International Labour Organization (ILO)

History and Philosophy

• Established: $1919$ (Peace Treaty of Versailles).
• Nobel Peace Prize: Awarded in $1969$.
• Motto: "Universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice."
• Declaration of Philadelphia ($1944$):
  • Labour is not a commodity.
  • Freedom of expression and association are essential to progress.
  • Poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere.

Structure

1. International Labour Conference (ILC): Legislative body; meets in June. Each state has $4$ representatives ($2$ Govt, $1$ Worker, $1$ Employer).
2. Governing Body: Executive council ($28$ Govt, $14$ Worker, $14$ Employer). India holds a permanent seat among the $10$ states of chief industrial importance.
3. International Labour Office: Secretariat and research centre.

Strategic Objectives (The Four Sectors)

1. Sector $1$: International labour standards and fundamental principles/rights.
2. Sector $2$: Decent employment and income.
3. Sector $3$: Social protection for all.
4. Sector $4$: Tripartism and social dialogue.

Core ILO Conventions Ratified by India

• Convention No. $29$: Forced Labour ($1930$) - Ratified $1954$.
• Convention No. $105$: Abolition of Forced Labour ($1957$) - Ratified $2000$.
• Convention No. $100$: Equal Remuneration ($1951$) - Ratified $1958$.
• Convention No. $111$: Discrimination (Employment) ($1958$) - Ratified $1960$.
• Convention No. $138$: Minimum Age ($1973$) - Ratified $2017$.
• Convention No. $182$: Worst Forms of Child Labour ($1999$) - Ratified $2017$.
• Note: India has NOT ratified Convention No. $87$ (Freedom of Association) and No. $98$ (Right to Organise).

Child Labour Regulations

Statutory Age Thresholds

• Factories Act, 1948: Minimum age $14$. Adolescents ($15\text{-}18$) require a fitness certificate.
• Plantation Labour Act, 1951: Prohibits children under $12$.
• Mines Act, 1952: Prohibits school-age children; work permitted above $16$ with certificate; adults defined as $18+$.
• Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016: Complete prohibition below $14$ in all occupations. Exceptions: (a) Family enterprises after school hours, (b) Audio-visual artists. Defines "Adolescent" as $14\text{-}18$ and prohibits them from hazardous work.

Judicial Landmark Cases

• PUDR v. Union of India ($1982$): Known as the Asiad Workers' case. Expanded the definition of "Force" to include economic compulsion. Remuneration less than minimum wage is forced labour.
• M.C. Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu ($1991, 1996$): Focused on child labour in the matchstick industry. Linked child protection to Article $21, 24, 39, 41$, and $45$.
• T.K. Rangarajan v. Govt of Tamil Nadu ($2003$): Clarified that the Right to Strike is NOT a fundamental right.
• Visakha v. State of Rajasthan ($1997$): Guidelines for prevention of sexual harassment.

Bonded Labour System

Definition under BLSAA, 1976: A system of forced labour where a debtor enters an agreement with a creditor due to an advance, interest, customary obligation, or birth in a particular caste.

Rights Forfeited:

1. Freedom of employment/wages.
2. Right to move freely throughout India.
3. Right to sell property or product of labour at market value.

Decent Work Agenda and SDG Goal 8

SDG Goal $8$ ($2030$): Calls for sustained, inclusive economic growth, full employment, and decent work for all.

Pillars of Decent Work:

• Promotion of Rights at Work.
• Employment creation (Income opportunities).
• Social Protection (Security schemes).
• Social Dialogue (Tripartite cooperation).

Impact of Globalisation and COVID-19

Globalisation aftermath:

• Employers: Seek cheap labour, deregulation, and lower environmental/procedural standards.
• Workers: Face migration, casualization, feminization of labour, and the "$3\text{D}$'s" (Dirty, Dangerous, Difficult) jobs.

COVID-19 Impact:

• Disruption: Workplace closures, MSME debt, and "Lockdown Generation" frustration.
• Poverty: Estimates suggest $71$ to $100$ million people fell into poverty.
• Policy: ILO framework suggests stimulating the economy, supporting enterprises/jobs, protecting workers, and relying on social dialogue.