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GENESIS OF LABOUR LAWS

• Labor law arose due to the demands of workers for better conditions,
the right to organize, or, alternatively, the right to work without
joining a labor union.
• Workers' organizations like trade unions, can also transcend purely
industrial disputes, gain political power. The state of labour law at any
one time is both the product of, and a component of, struggles
between different interests in society.
• Types of labour laws
INDIVIDUAL LAWS
Individual labor law concerns employees' rights at work and through
the contract for work. The labor movementinstrumental in the
enacting of laws protecting labor rights in the 19th and 20th centuries,
Labor rightsintegral to the social and economic development since
the Industrial Revolution.
 These include laws such as- 
• Contract of employment
• Minimum wage
• Working time
• Health and safety
• Anti-discrimination
• Unfair dismissal
• Child labor
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COLLECTIVE LAWS
Collective labor law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer
and union.
These include laws on -
• Trade unions
• Strikes
• Workplace involvement
INTERNATIONAL LAWS
•In a globalizing economy, common social standards ought to support economic
development in common markets. At the Doha round of trade talks through the World
Trade Organization, there was a discussion on the inclusion of some kind of minimum
standard of worker protection. 
•The ability of corporations to shift their supply chains from one country to another
with relative ease could pose certain problems whereby nation states are forced into a
merciless downward spiral
•The International Labour Organization (ILO),one of the oldest surviving international
bodies, and the only surviving international body set up at the time of the League of
Nations following the First World War.
•ILO guiding principle"labour is not a commodity" to be traded in the same way as
goods, services or capital, and that human dignity demands equality of treatment and
fairness in dealing within the workplace.
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•In 1919, the signatory nations to the Treaty of Versailles created the
International Labour Organization (ILO) in recognition of the fact that
"conditions of labour exist involving such injustice.
•The newly founded organization established a system of international
labour standards - international conventions and recommendations.
•Was recognized in 1919 was that the global economy needed clear rules in
order to ensure that economic progress would go hand in hand with social
justice.
•ILO's Declaration of Philadelphia of 1944, the international community
recognized that "labour is not a commodity".
•International labour standards are there to ensure that it remains focused
on improving human life and dignityensures a level playing field in the
global economy.
•International legal framework helps governments and employers to avoid
the temptation of lowering labour standards to gain a greater comparative
advantage in international trade.

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•Lowering labour standards encourage the spread of low-wage, low-skill, and high-
turnover industries, prevent a country from developing more stable high-skilled
employment, difficult for trading partners to develop their economies upwards.
•Conventions and recommendations are drawn up by representatives of
governments, employers and workers and are adopted at the ILO's annual
International Labour Conference.
•Once a standard is adopted, member states  submit them to their competent
authority (normally the parliament) for consideration consideration for ratification.
•Ratifying countries commit themselves to applying the convention in national law
and practice and reporting on its application at regular intervals.
•Representation and complaint procedures can be initiated against countries for
violations of a convention they have ratified 
Fundamental conventions
•Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention,
1948 (No. 87)
•Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)
•Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)
•Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)
•Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)
•Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)e
•equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)
•Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)
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Subjects covered by international labour standard
 Freedom of association
 Collective bargaining
 Forced labour
 Child labour
 Equality of opportunity and treatment
 Tripartite consultation
 Labour administration
 Labour inspection
 Employment policy
 Employment promotion
 Vocational guidance and training
 Employment security
 Wages
 Working time
 Occupational safety and health
 Social security
 Maternity protection
 Social policy
 Migrant workers
 HIV/AIDS
 Seafarers
 Fishers
 Dock workers
 Indigenous and tribal peoples
 Other specific categories of workers
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ILO and Human Rights at Work
ILO standards are closely related to the universal
values of freedom, equality and dignity laid down
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
For example, , the Freedom of Association and
Protection of the Right to Organize Convention,
1948 (No. 87), can be seen as a “classic” human
rights instrument, as it mainly provides for the
protection of that freedom against potential
restrictions or infringements by the State.

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LAW OBJECTIVE OF THE LAW
THE CHILD LABOUR (PROHIBITION An Act to prohibit the engagement of
AND REGULATION) children in certain employments
ACT, 1986 and to regulate the conditions of work of
children in certain other
employments.

THE BONDED LABOUR SYSTEM An Act to provide for the abolition of

(ABOLITION) ACT, 1976 bonded labour system with a view to
preventing the economic and physical
exploitation of the weaker sections of the
people and for matters connected therewith
or incidental thereto.
THE CONTRACT LABOUR An Act to regulate the employment of
(REGULATION AND ABOLITION) ACT, contract labour in certain establishments
1970 and to
provide for its abolition in certain
circumstances and for matters connected
therewith
EMPLOYEE'S COMPENSATION ACT, 1923 An Act to provide for the payment by
certain classes of employers to their
workmen of compensation for injury by
accident.
LAW OBJECTIVE OF THE LAW

THE MATERNITY BENEFITS ACT, 1961 An Act to regulate the employment of women in certain
establishments for certain periods before and after
child-birth and to provide for maternity benefit and
certain other benefits.

EQUAL REMUNERATION ACT, 1976 An Act to regulate the employment of women in certain
establishments for certain periods before and after
child-birth and to provide for maternity benefit and
certain other benefits.

THE UNORGANISED WORKERS’ SOCIAL An Act to provide for the social security and welfare of
SECURITY ACT, 2008 unorganized workers and for
other matters connected therewith or incidental
thereto.

THE FATAL ACCIDENTS ACT, 1855 An Act to provide compensation to families for loss
occasioned by the death of a person caused by
actionable wrong

THE INTER-STATE MIGRANT WORKMEN An Act to regulate the employment of inter-State

(REGULATION OF migrant workmen and to provide for
EMPLOYMENT AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE) their conditions of service and for matters connected
ACT,12/08/21
1979 therewith. 10
LAWS
THE DANGEROUS MACHINES ACT, 1983
THE TRADE UNIONS ACT, 1926
THE BEEDI AND CIGAR WORKERS
(CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT ACT),
1966
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OBJECTIVE OF THE
An Act to provide for the regulation of trade
and commerce in, and production, supply,
distribution and use of, the product of any
industry producing dangerous machines
with a view to securing the welfare of
labour, operating any such machine and for
payment of compensation for the death or
bodily injury suffered by any labourer while
operating any such machine, and for
matters connected therewith or incidental
thereto.
An act to provide for the registration of
Trade Unions and in certain respects to
define the law relating to registered Trade
Unions.
The Act has been enacted to provide for the
welfare of the workers in beedi and cigar
establishments and to regulate the
conditions of their work
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 THE UNORGANISED
WORKERS’ SOCIAL SECURITY
ACT, 2008
The Bill as passed by the Houses of Parliament
received the assent of the President on the 30th
December, 2008.

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Framing of scheme
“Under the act, the Centre and the states will
constitute social security advisory boards to
recommend suitable welfare measures for
different sections of unorganized sector workers
and the central government would notify
suitable welfare schemes relating to -
(a) life and disability cover;
(b) health and maternity benefits;
(c) old age protection; and
(d) any other benefit as may be determined by the
Central Government.
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 It has also mentioned ten schemes in the schedule which
includes Aam Admi Bima Yojana, Rashtriya Swasthya
Bima Yojana, Janshree Bima Yojana, Janani Suraksha
Yojana, Old Age Pension, Family Benefit and schemes
related to weavers, artisans and master crafts persons.
None of these schemes are new and are mostly applicable
only for BPL families. Most of the urban unorganized
workers may not fall under the BPL category. The BPL
income of Rs 500 is too less even for bare existence in
urban areas. Moreover, most of these schemes are
insurance schemes which are to be sourced from workers
and operated by insurance companies. The only possibility
is that the central and state governments may subsidise
contributions from BPL workers at a ratio of 75:25. Beyond
this, there appears to be no plan for the government to
fund the entire social security schemes.
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‘Smart’ Registration
The function of registration of workers, the ‘biggest’
advantage of the entire Act too is left to the state
governments to be performed through the bureaucracy at
district level. Any unorganized worker of above 14 years of age
can register himself/herself with the worker facilitation centre
by giving a self-declaration. By getting a unique identification
number and smart card that are portable, the worker will be
eligible for suitable social security schemes if he/she would
pay the prescribed contribution.
Both the Centre and the state governments are to formulate
schemes to provide so-called provident fund, an employment
injury benefit, housing, educational schemes for children, skill
up-gradation of workers, funeral assistance and old age
protection for the workers. It can be noted that none of them
are mandatory on any government

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Positive effect (govt. perspective)
The then Labour Minister (Oscar fernandes) said,
“when the income of our people is only Rs. 20, our
Parliament, through this Bill, has given an income of
two dollars a day to our people in the rural areas.
Anybody can stand up and say that I want a job. You
get a job of two dollars a day. What a jump it is from
Rs.20 to Rs.80, and to Rs.135 in states like Delhi,
Haryana and Punjab!”
Perhaps, the minister wanted to conceal the fact that
the workers had to fight a major battle even to get
the declared wages of Rs.80 even in the much
proclaimed NREGA.
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 Limitation of this act.
Neither agricultural labourers have been brought under the
purview of the Act nor a separate bill for agricultural
labourers tabled even the unorganized labourers in the
organised sector including contract labourers and the
informal labourers in the formal sector, the anganwadi
workers, para workers like ASHAs and parateachers, and
those the cooperative sector have been excluded But, the
govt. claims that they are also covered.
  The Act is applicable only to a small section of
unorganized labourers whose income limit is expected to
be notified by the government. There is every possibility
that the subsequent notification will include parameters to
exclude good number of unorganised workers from the
applicability of the law and the schemes.
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 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.
Collective bargaining is the process whereby workers
organize collectively and bargain with employers regarding
the workplace. In a broad sense, it is the coming together or
workers to negotiate their employment. (ILO).

Thus collective bargaining:

is a collective process in which representatives of both the
management and employees participate.
is a continuous process which aims at establishing stable
relationships between the parties involved.
not only involves the bargaining agreement, but also
involves the implementation of such an agreement.
attempts in achieving discipline in the industry
is a flexible approach, as the parties involved have to adopt
a flexible attitude towards negotiations.
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TRADE UNIONS IN INDIA
The Indian workforce consists of 430 million workers, growing
2% annually. The Indian labor markets consist of three sectors:
The rural workers, who constitute about 60 per cent of the
workforce,
Organized sector, which employs 8 per cent of workforce, and
The urban informal sector (which includes the growing
software industry and other services, not included in the formal
sector) which constitutes the rest 32 per cent of the workforce.

i.e. All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Centre of India

Trade Unions(CITU), Indian National Trade Union Congress
(INTUC) are among the 12 central trade unions in India.

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   The workers in the construction sector are exempted
from making any payment because a cess was collected
from the sector for providing health insurance and other
facilities. But there is no provision to collect a mandatory
cess from the employers in other sectors. Only the BPL
unorganized workers have been exempted from paying
any premium only in the case of one scheme – 'Rashtriya
Swasthya Bima Yojana – providing for a paltry health
insurance cover of up to a maximum of Rs.30,000 for a
family of five. As a result, workers in other sectors would
have to pay the premium amount.
  The passage of the Act is not accompanied by any legally
stipulated guarantee for the establishment of a Central
Welfare fund.
There is no provision for penalties in the Act to punish
those employers who violate it.
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 The special problem of women unorganized workers
do not figure in the Bill. The problems of security,
sexual harassment, proper accommodation for
migrant women workers, issues relating to nature of
work and industrial safety, gender wage gap, non-
payment of wages, childcare facilities at work spot
etc., have been totally neglected.
The special problems of migrant workers, especially
inter-State migrants, among unorganized workers,
especially the problem of security, has been totally
ignored by the Act.

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 THANKYOU !

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GROUP MEMBERS ARE-
Malvika
Chhaya
Sakshi
Souvick
Kaveri
Barkha
Akansha
Somya

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