Darshan Upadhyay
While the Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the lives of common men, it is the daily wage labourers who have been the worst affected. With an unprecedented lockdown announced, most states saw the influx of migrant workers from various parts of the country as daily work and the wage came to an abrupt standstill. This prompted many states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Assam among others to bring in marked reforms in their labour laws
The State of Uttar Pradesh has decided to do away with most of their labour laws for a period extending to three years. The Gujarat government has decided to do the same for any new unit which is opened up and which operates for 1200 days. Madhya Pradesh however, has not done away with all labour laws and has instead decided to do away with various provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act as well as the welfare provisions under the Factories Act for new firms setting up shop which will come into being for the ensuing 1000 days. This being the trend of labour law reforms across the nation, the Government of Assam has also made headlines by deciding to increase the working hours in all factories along with overtime pay and bringing in varied changes in its labour laws. This approach saw a marked difference from what was expected as the state government did not suspend any labour laws, but brought in certain changes targeting more flexibility to employers and the introduction of fixed term employment.
The question therefore arises as in what prompted the State of Assam to take the road not taken. Let us take a look at these labour law reforms brought about by the State which very well may provide a suitable precedence for other states to follow.
Foremost, the State government has decided to bring in the concept of “fixed-term employment” by an amendment in the State rules. Earlier in January 2018, the Ministry of Labour had issued a draft notification for extension of fixed-term employment for all sectors through amendment of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central Rules, 1946. Thereafter the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central (Amendment) Rules, 2018 came into force on 16th March, 2018 which carries provisions for Fixed Term Employment.
The intention behind the same is to ensure that both workers and employers do not face any hurdle in getting wage and manpower respectively. Fixed term employment will therefore allow the firms to hire workmen on the basis of their requirements. This will more importantly help the local employers and industrialist, especially the ones who are in seasonal businesses like agriculture, sericulture and other handicrafts industry of the State who cannot have permanent employees or workers working for them. The flexibility in hiring is the biggest advantage that the fixed term employment will usher in. As for the workers, in a post-lockdown period with ever increasing unemployment and stagnation of business, the fixed term employment reform will allow more farmers specifically and youth in general to get employment opportunities. It is hoped that the same will also help the rural section of the society and the skilled workers immensely in landing more jobs. Arguments against fixed term employment in general contend that the jobs it will procure will have less security and workers will be at the mercy of the employers who would be able to fire them at their will. However, the same has been taken care by the State as it has been decided that the recruiting firms and companies will have to provide the same social security benefits as is provided to the permanent workers in the same unit like health insurance and gratuity among others in consonance with the Central Law.
The most landmark change however was the amendment to the Factories Act, 1948 via the rules. As per the new reforms, the minimum number of workers required for the implementation of the aforementioned legislation in factories run with power has been increased from 10 to 20. And the minimum number of workers required for factories without power from 20 to 40. Now how does this make any difference is the most obvious question that arises. The change this will usher in is this that now the inspectors appointed by the State government under section 8 of the Factories Act, 1948 will only be able to inspect a factory run on power with a minimum workmen strength of 20 and not less. The same will apply for factories run without power, as an inspector would not be able to inspect any factory run with less than 40 workmen. These changes even though can be accused of diluting the interests of the workers and their safety in general, the accusation would find less ground when considered from the tumultuous times that now exists.
Amongst other things the State Government is of the view that these reforms will also help woo the companies and firms which are initiating withdrawal of factories from China to India. In fact, as per news reports, the State has already written to the Central Government about its intent of hosting such companies and firms.
A similar change has been made in The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 via the rules where the minimum strength of workers required for the implementation of the act has been increased from 20 to 50 thus fending off inspection by the inspecting staff as under Section 28 of the Contract Labour Act. The government has also decided to increase the shift hours from 8 to 12 hours during the Covid-19 period which will provide more working hours and therefore more output will ensue.
Lastly, amongst the other developments which have been brought about, the government has decided to allow the tea gardens across the state to function in full capacity in consonance with the social distancing norms and requisite hygiene. The 172 years old tea industry in the state produces more than half of the total national produce of tea in the nation, along with providing employment to many. Thus, the decision of the state of Assam to tackle the labour reforms by introducing fixed term employment is a good move which is likely to benefit both the skilled workers and the seasonal employers of the State. Added with the changes brought about in the Factories Act, 1948 and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, the reforms do present a distinctive way of dealing with the post-lockdown labour reforms crisis. However, it can also be argued that doing away with the “Inspector Raj” is only a bait to afford more flexibility to the employers. In fact, in reality there has been a gradual drop in the number of inspections made and also in the availability of requisite staff for conducting such inspections. While considering the apathy of the times we are in, the same might be considered as a necessity in order to provide for jobs. The real concern therefore would arise if the government decides to not revert back to what the law originally provided for.
Darshan Upadhyay, 3rd Year B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) Student at the National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam
Picture Credits: India CSR
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