INDUSTRIAL LAW AND LABOUR LAW

The terms Industrial Law and Labor Law are often used interchangeably in our country. The scope of the term Industrial Law is however, much wider. Broadly speaking, Industrial Low covers all Statutes and Case Law pertaining to industry. As such, it covers not only laws affecting or relating to industry and labour but also laws pertaining to taxation and corporate matters. In the restricted sense, the term Industrial Law is confined only to those laws which have bearing on industry in its relation to or as a affecting labour. In this sense, Industrial Law is a term synonymous with Labour Law which obviously covers only those laws which are primarily concerned with labour. The term Labour Law is used to denote that body of laws which deal with employment and non-employment wages, working conditions, industrial relations, social security and labour welfare of industrially employed persons. The origin and growth of Labour Law may be ascribed mostly to the development of organised industry where a large number of workers, including women and children are employed under conditions which tend to be detrimental to their health, safety and welfare and against which they are often unable to protect themselves.

NEED FOR LABOUR LEGISLATION

It proceeds from two basic concepts: First, the relationship between workers and employers is one of partnersip in the maintenance of production and the building up of the national economy.

Secondly, the community as a whole as well as individual employers are under an obligation to protect the well-being of workers and to secure to them their due share in the gains of economic development. The object of labour legislation, therefore, is twofold, namely: 1. To improve the service conditions of industrial labour so as to provide for them the ordinary amenities of life, and by that process, 2. To bring about industrial peace which could in its turn accelerate productive activity of the country resulting in its prosperity.

The prosperity of the country, in its turn, helps to improve the conditions of labour. The social and economic upliftment of the labour is important for securing industrial peace which is essential to increase the national productivity. To sum up, labour legislation is necessary for the following reasons: 1. The individual workers are economically weak. They cannot bargain with the employers for the protection of their rights and even for subsistence wages. As such legislation for protection of labour against log hours of work, unhygienic conditions of work, low wages and exploitation is needed. 2. The workers are exposed to certain risks in factories, mines and other establishment. As such in order to make provision for their health, safety and welfare, legislation is needed. 3. In order to increase the bargaining power of labour, legislation is necessary to encourage the formation of trade unions. 4. In order to avoid industrial disputes which lead to strikes and lock-outs, labour legislation is needed.
5.

Laws for providing compensation to workmen who die or are injured during and in the course of employment are also needed.

6. To protect children and women from taking to work under hazardous conditions and at odd hours and in hazardous processes, laws are necessary. 7. Labour Legislation advances the interests of the working people and thus helps in the development of the national economy on a sound and self reliant basis.

INDUSTRIAL HARMONY Economic progress of a country is bund up with industrial peace. Industrial relation are, therefore, not a matter between employers and employees alone, but a vital concern of the community which may be expressed in measures for the protection of its larger interests. The National Commission on Lobour, however, preferred to describe its approach as one in quest of industrial harmony rather than industrial peace as according to it the concept of industrial peace is somewhat negative and restrictive. It emphasizes absence of strife and struggle. The concept of industrial harmony is positive and comprehensive and it postulates the existence of understanding, cooperation and a sense of partnership between the employers and employees. A quest for industrial harmony is indispensable when as country plans to make economic progress. It may sound platitudinous but it is nevertheless true that no nation can hope to survive in the modern technological age, much less become strong, great and prosperous, unless it is wedded to industrial development and technological advance. Economic progress is bound up with industrial harmony for the simple reason that industrial harmony inevitably leads to more co-operation between employers and employees, which results in more productivity and thereby contributes to all-round prosperity of the country. Healthy industrial relations, on which industrial harmony is founded, cannot therefore be regarded as a matter in which only the employers and

employees are concerned; it is of vital significance to the community as a whole. That is how the concept of industrial harmony involves the cooperation not only of the employers and the employees, but also of the community at large. To conclude, industrial harmony is a product of goodwill and understanding between labour and management and if, for whatever reason, one or the otherside fails to observe the rules of the game, the laws should be such as to take care of the offenders impartially.

PRINCILPLES OF LABOUR LEGISLATION Labour legislation is based on certain fundamental principles:

1.

Social justice. In an industrial sit-up, social justice means an equitable distribution of profits and benefits accuring from industry between industrialists and workers and affording protection to the workers against harmful effect to their health, safety and morality. Mere compliance with and enforcement of legal rights may be unfair and couse hardship to the workers as worker-employer constracts are generally one-sided and dictated by the employers. The workmens Compensation Act, 1923 and the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, for example, are attempts at securing social justice to the workers. The provisions of the Factories Act, 1948, fixing hours of work, overtime, leave privileges, welfare facilities and safe working conditions are also directed towards the same end. Social justice is the signature tune of the Constitution of India and this note is nowhere more vibrant than in industrial jurisprudence [Per Kishna Iyer, J. in Punjab National Bank v. Ghulam Dastagir, A.I.R.(1948) S.C.481] The preamble to our Constitution also lays down the objective of establishing Justice-Social, Economic and Political

2. Social equity. Another principle on which labour legislation is based is social equity. Legislation based on social justice fixes an definite standard for adoption for the future, taking into consideration the events and circumstances of the past and present. But with the change of circumstances and ideas there may be a need for change in the law. This power of changing the law is taken by the Government by making provisions for rule-making powers in the Acts in regard to certain specified matters. The rules may be modified or amended by the Government to suit the changed situation. Such legislation is based on the principle of social equity. 3. International uniformity. International uniformity is another principle on which labour laws are based. The important role played by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in this connection is praiseworthy. The ILO is an international agency which was founded in 1919 soon after the First World War. The main aims of the ILO are: i. ii. To remove injustice, hardship and privation of large masses of toiling people all over the world; and To improve their living and working conditions and thus establish universal and lasting peace based upon social justice. ILO has done and is doing a great deal of work in order to make member-countries of whom India is one to conform to standards of legislation for the welfare of labour and improvement of their working conditions. The ILO is a tripartite organization consisting of representatives of Governments, employers and workers of the member-countries. There is parity of representation as between Government and non-Government groups and also between employers and workers groups. By its tripartite

character of association of representatives of Governments, employers and workers, ILO has produced a large number of International Conventions and Recommendation covering unemployment, general conditions of employment, wages, hours of work, weekly rest periods, holidays, employment of children, young persons and women, industrial health, safety, social security, industrial relations and may other allied subjects. The basic principles of the Labour Policy of the ILO are as follows: a) Labour is not a commodity. b) Freedom of expression and of association are essential to continued progress. c) Poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere.
d)

War against want requires to be carried on with unending vigour within each nation and by continuous efforts in which the representatives of workers and employers enjoying equal status with those of Governments, join with them in free discussions and democratic decisions with a view to the promotion of common welfare. The ILO aims at securing minimum standards on a uniform basis in respect of all labour matters. Conventions passed by the ILO conference, if and when ratified by a member-state, have to be implemented through appropriate legislation. Most of the labour legislation in India is based on this principle.

4. National Economy. In enacting labour legislation, the general economic situation of the country has to be borne in mind lest the very objective of the legislation be defeated. The state of

national economy is an important factor in influencing labour legislation in the country.

CONSTITUTION AS THE BASIS FOR LABOUR LEGISLATION

The Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy enshrined in our Constitution need a special mention in view of their supreme importance in directing and influencing the labour legislation in the country.

Fundamental Rights

The Fundamental Rights cover, inter alia, equality before the law, prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race caste, sex or place of birth, equality of opportunity in matters of public employment, abolition of untouchability, protection of rights regarding freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom to form associations, freedom to practice any profession, protection of life and personal liberty, and right against exploitation. Article 24 of the constitution specifically provides that no child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment. Fundamental Rights are enforceable in the Low Courts and create justiciable rights in individuals.

Directive Principles of State Policy

The Directive Principles lay down the guiding principles which the State ought to follow both in framing laws and enforcing them. They confer no legal rights and create no legal remedies. But still they provide a good guide in charting the path of the State in the governance of the country. The relevant Directive Principles affecting, directly or indirectly, Labour Legislation are as follows: 1. State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people. The State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice, social, economic and political shall inform all the institutions of the national life (Article 38). 2. Certain principles of policy to be followed by the State. The State shall direct its policy toward securinga. That the citizens, men and women equally, have the right oto an adequate means of livelihood; b. That the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good; c. That the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment; d. That there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women;
e.

That the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity

to enter a vocations unsuited to their age or strength; and f. That childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment (Article 39) Article 39 briefly but effectively lays down the basic philosophy of the ideal of democratic socialism which is enshrined in the preamble and which is the underlying spirit of the Directive Principles.
3.

Equal justice and free legal aid. The State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity. It shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities (Article 39-A). Right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases. The State shall make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement and in other cases of underserved want (Article 41).

4.

5. Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief. The State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief (Article 42). 6. Living wage, etc., for workers. The State shall endeavour to secure, by suitable legislation or economic organization or in any other way, to all workers, agricultural, industrial or otherwise,, work, a living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and

social and cultural opportunities and, in particular, the State shall endeavour to promote cottage industries on an individual or co-operative basis in rural areas (Article 43). Article 43, in a sense, can be said to be the Magna Carta of all workers. 7. Participation of workers in management of industries. The State shall take steps, by suitable legislation or in any other way, to secure the participation of workers in management of undertakings, establishments or other organizations engaged in any industry (Article 43-A). 8. Promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled tribes and other weaker sections. The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation (Article-46).
9.

Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health. The State shall raise level of nutrition and the standard of living and improve public health and shall endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption (except for medicinal purposes) of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health (Article 47). of agriculture and animal husbandry. The State shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines (Article 48). Though the Directive Principles are not justiciable, they were nevertheless regarded by the founding fathers of the Constitution as fundamental in the governance of the country. Still the Directive Principles are

10. Organization

fundamental guideposts for the State action. They envisage a new socio-economic order for the country. This has given a wholly unconventional role to the legislation of the fundamental object of the State policy and action.

MAIN POSTULATES OF LABOUR POLICY The Indian industrial landscape has changed perceptibly in the last 45 yeas. The main postulates of labour policy operating in the country during these years are: 1) Recognition of the State, the custodian of the interest of community, as the catalyst of change and welfare programmes. 2) Recognition of the right of workers to peaceful direct action if justice is denied to them. 3) Arbitration. 4) Intervention by the State in favour of the weaker party to ensure fair treatment to all concerned. 5) Primacy to maintenance of industrial peace. 6) Evolving partnership between the employer and employees in a constructive endeavour to promote the satisfaction of the economic needs of the community in the best possible manner. 7) Ensuring fair wage standards and provision of social security. 8) Co-operation productivity. for augmenting production and increasing

9) Adequate enforcement of legislation. 10) 11) Enhancing the status of the works in industry. Tripartite consultation.

The First Plan adumberated these principles and they have been reaffirmed in successive Plans. In giving effect to them in practice, the accent has been on the reciprocity and mutuality of obligations and recognition of workers contribution to production and productivity. A suitable change in emphasis with regard to mode of settlement of disputes in successive Plans is also discernible. Legalistic approach is gradually yielding place to voluntary bilateral arrangements. Strengthening of trade unions to secure better labour-management relations has also been a part of this approach. The tripartite consultative machinery formed during the Second World War has now grown into an oft-resorted instrument for formulation of labour policy. Though its role is advisory, its deliberation have had an distinctive influence on the policies and that manner of their implementation and in reaching many voluntary arrangements. Labour Ministers get together periodically for reviewing policy and exchanging views on administrative matters. A labor administration machinery, including an elaborate institutional set-up under the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 has been built up. Wage policy has not been operated to the disadvantage of the economy, though labour, which is its main beneficiary, has reason to expect that the policy could have been more liberally interpreted and applied. Other areas where significant developments have taken place in pursuance of the Directive Principles embodies in the Constitution are social security and labour welfare.

WORKING CONDITIONS The Factories Act, 1948

(Act. No. 53 of 1948) Working conditions in factories are regulated by the Factories Act, 1948 which provides for the health, safety and welfare of workers and precautions to be taken in case of hazardous processes. Minimum standards of lighting, ventilation, safety, health and welfare services which the employers must provide in their factories have also been laid down. Factories employing over 30 women workers are required to provide a crche for their children. Shelters, rest rooms and lunch rooms are to be provided by factories employing over 150 workers. Factories with more than 250 workers have to provide canteens for their workers factories employing 500 or more workers have to appoint welfare officers. The Act prescribes a 48 hour week for adult workers, prohibits the employment of children under 14 in any factory, and makes some special provision for children and women. It also makes provision for annual leave with wages. The Act is enforced by the State Governments through their Factory Inspectorates. It also empowers the State Governments to frame rules so that the local conditions prevailing in the State are appropriately reflected in the enforcement.