CHANGES IN LABOUR LAW

Labor Law was created to protect the rights and interest of labor. But as time passes, labor
legislation has failed to keep pace with dramatic shifts in the workplace driven by social
media, increasing competition for talent and the influx of millennial generation employees
with attitudes and expectations different from those of their older colleagues.
Last year, a few amendments were proposed by the Chief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara
Raje to the president of India. The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly had passed Bills
amending the rules under the central government of four key labor laws, with the intention of
easing the process of hiring, training and dismissing worker easier as well to strengthen the
rules for trade union registration, among other things. The amendments were to the Factories
Act 1948, the Industrial Disputes Act 1947, the Apprenticeship Act 1961 and the Contract
Labor (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970.
India currently has over 40 national (federal) labor laws and close to 100 state laws. Within
this spiders web of legislation, employers have found it difficult to remain consistently and
completely in compliance, employees and their representatives to identify and take advantage
of the protections existing law offers workers and the government to effectively enforce the
laws. Some laws, for example, contain differing definitions of employee and employer,
making it difficult even to determine who is covered.

AMENDMENTS
Amendments to the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947:
Industrial unit owners and employers can lay off employees or shut down units if the
company employs up to 300 employees without permission of the government as
against the earlier maximum limit of 100 employees;
In case such retrenchment, the worker may raise an objection in three months as
opposed to no time limit earlier); and
A labor union can be formed if there is 30 per cent of the total membership as against
the earlier 15 per cent.

Amendments to the Factories Act, 1948:

The Factories (Amendment) Bill would introduce some important changes to the Factories
Act, 1948, including:
raising the threshold for applicability to 20 (if power is used) and 40 (if power is not
used) to exempt smaller factories from regulation and compliance;
removing restrictions limiting the sorts of machinery on which women may work and
allowing them to work between 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. if adequate safeguards are
provided by the employer;
imposing restrictions on the employment of pregnant women and disabled persons;
introducing new requirements for workers safety such as supplying protective
equipment and clothing to workers exposed to hazards and implementing safeguards
for the operation of hazardous processes;
providing shelters or restrooms in a factory employing at least 150 workers;
increasing the maximum number of overtime hours an employee may work; and
Reducing guaranteed paid leave.

Amendments to the Contract Labor Act, 1970:

This act is now applicable to establishments employing 50 contract workers, the earlier
threshold being 20. This increase in upper limits ensures better compliance be small
entrepreneurs and contractors.
Amendments to the Apprenticeship Act, 1961:
Getting rid of the clause that allows arrest of employers for not implementing the Act.
Addition of 500 new trades to the list of 238 in the Act.
Companies might also be permitted to begin new trades without waiting for the
Centre to notify those.
Ban on Child Labor:
The Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill seeks to completely ban child
labor, making it a crime to employ children under the age of 14 or to employ those 14 to 18
years old in hazardous industries. This change would make the labor laws consistent with the
Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The amendment would also
make parents liable if their children continue to work in prohibited activities after an initial
warning.

Why was a need for change in these Acts/Laws?

1. The prime reason for amendments in these laws is that they have become outdated
and redundant. Amendments in these laws will be giant step towards achieving both
political as well as economical innovation in labor reforms. India needs flexible labor
laws to ensure freedom from unemployment where as many as 12 million are added to
the workforce annually. Labor market reforms will undoubtedly bring down the divide
between the formal and informal employment.
2. Changes in labor laws will pave the way for each state to have their own socioeconomic background and take decisions to create more jobs within their boundaries.
Impact of the Amendments:
Companies now have the flexibility to hire employees or lay them off to adjust to the
demand-supply scenario that exists in the markets at any given time. Loss- making businesses
can be dumped without delay or without loss of precious resources. With the reduced
thresholds for labor union memberships, inter-union conflicts and multiplicity can be reduced
or even completely avoided. The management-labor interface reduces leading to fewer
conflicts and lessens the losses due to these conflicts. With the Amendments in the Factories
Act reducing the number of workers in a factory, companies now have reduced burden of
compliance, allowing factory a management greater accent on production innovation and
harnessing efficiencies. As anticipated, business chambers in India have welcomed these
changes as a positive step towards encouraging employment generation and focus on
production. The Confederation of Indian Industry has stated We have been recommending
these key reforms for bringing in simplification and flexibility in engagement and
deployment of labor, which should be the two key cornerstones for any labor law reforms.
SOURCE:
http://www.oneindia.com/feature/narendra-modi-government-clears-labour-reformbills-1493371.html
http://lawquestinternational.com/article/labour-law-changes-india
http://www.nishithdesai.com/fileadmin/user_upload/pdfs/Research
%20Articles/India_Employment_Law_Outlook_2015.pdf