Focus
Content
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF WORKERS EDUCATION, MUMBAI (FOUNDED BY THE CENTRAL BOARD FOR WORKERS EDUCATION) Shramik Shikshan Bhavan , L.B.Shastri Marg , Kurla (West), Mumbai – 400 070. LIBRARY & DOCUMENTATION CENTRE
IIWE/LIB/DOC/2010/
VOLUME 1 Compiled By : Dr Asmita Deshmukh
Highlights
Labour Law Amendments New Law Enacted New Policy Important Schemes for Unorganized Sector Workers Wages Social Security International Labour Organisation Labour Cases
Labour Law Amendments
Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923 The Act will now be called „The Employees‟ Compensation Act, 1923‟. The compensation under the Act has been
enhanced from Rs. 80,000/- to Rs. 1,20,000/- in case of death. From Rs. 90,000/- to Rs. 1,40,000/- in case of disablement. Rs. 2500/- to Rs. 5000/- towards funeral expenses. The employee shall be reimbursed the actual treatment of injuries caused during the course of employment without any ceiling. A new section 25A has been added for the Commissioner to dispose the matter relating to compensation under this Act within a period of three months from date of reference. The wage ceiling limit for working out compensation has been increased from Rs. 4000/to Rs. 8000/- per month. The Amendment Act was notified on 23.12.2009 and made effective from 18.01.2010.
Payment of Gratuity act, 1972
The Act has been amended to cover teachers in educational institutions in the Act. The Amendment Act was notified on 31.12.2009 and was made effective from 03.04.1997. The ceiling on gratuity has been enhanced from Rs. 3.5 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh. The Amendment Act was notified on 18.05.2010 and made effective from 24.05.2010.
Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948
The Act has been amended to improve the quality of delivery of benefits under the scheme and also to enable ESI infrastructure to be used to provide health care to workers of unorganised sector. The Amendment Act was notified on 25.05.2010 and made effective from 01.06.2010.
The Plantation Labour Act, 1951
The Act has been amended to provide safety and occupational health care to plantation workers. The Amendment Act was notified on 18.05.2010 and made effective from 01.06.2010.
The Payment of Wages
The Act was amended by enhancing the wage
Act, 1936
ceiling from Rs. 1600/- to Rs. 6500/- per month. The amendment was notified on 06.09.2005 and made effective from 09.11.2005. The wage ceiling has been subsequently increased to Rs. 10,000/pm through notification w.e.f. 08.08.2007. The wage ceiling enhanced from Rs. 1600/- to Rs. 10,000/- per month to cover workmen working in supervisory capacity, and to provide direct access for the workman to the Labour Court or Tribunal in case of disputes arising out of Section 2( a ) of the Act. The scope of qualifications of Presiding Officers of Labour Courts has been expanded. The Labour Court or Tribunal has been empowered to execute Grievance Redressal Machinery and the awards. The Amendment Act was notified on 19.8.2010 and made effective from 15.9.2010.
The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
The Payment of Bonus Act 1965
Calculation ceiling and eligibility limit under the Act have been enhanced from Rs. 2500/- to Rs. 3500/- and from Rs. 3500/- to Rs. 10,000/- per month respectively. The amendment was notified on 13.12. 2007 and made effective from 01.04.2008. The contract workers engaged in construction activities have also been covered.
The Apprentices Act, 1961
The Act has been amended to provide for reservation for other Backward Classes. The amendment was notified on 28.01.2008 and made effective from 01.02.2008 The Act was amended to enhance the medical bonus from Rs.250/- to Rs. 1000/- and also empowers the Central Government to increase it from time to time before every three years, by way of notification in the Official Gazette, subject to maximum of Rs. 20,000/-. The amendment was notified on 15.04.2008 making it effective from the same date. The Medical Bonus has further been increased from Rs. 1000/- to Rs. 2500/- w.e.f. 11.08.2008.
The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
New Law Enacted
The Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008
The Act enacted to include formulation of welfare schemes for different sections of the unorganized sector workers on matters relating to : (a) life and disability cover, (b) health and maternity benefits, (c) old age protection, and (d) any other benefits that may be decided by the Central Government and constitution of a National Social Security Advisory Board at Central level and similar Boards at State level. The Act was notified on 31.12.2008 and made effective from 16.05.2009.
New Policy
The National Policy on Safety, Health and Environment at Workplace, the National Policy on HIV / AIDS and the World of Work have been announced.
Important Schemes for Unorganized Sector Workers A Health Insurance Scheme for the poor titled „Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana‟ (RBSY) is being implemented form 01.04.2008. The scheme envisages provision of issuance of a smart card to the beneficiary. This card will facilitate cashless transaction up to Rs. 30,000/-. 27 States / Union Territories have initiated the process to
implement the scheme. About 1.66 crore cards have been issued so far. The scheme is being extended to cover other target groups like construction workers, railway porters, Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGREGA) beneficiaries who have worked for more than 15 days during the preceding financial year etc. The National Social Security Fund has been set up for unorganized sector workers with an initial corpus of Rs 1000 crore. This fund will support schemes for weavers, toddy-tappers, rickshaw pullers, beedi workers etc.
Wages
The National Floor Level Minimum Wage has been revised from Rs 80/- per day to Rs 100/- per day w.e.f. 01.11.2009. In the Central Sphere, minimum rates of wages were revised for workers in the Employment of “construction”, “loading and unloading” and “non-coal mining” w.e.f. 20.05.2009 in the range of Rs 120/- to Rs 240/- per day for different categories of workers. The Central Government has notified the Payment of Wages (Nomination) Rules, 2009 defining the procedure for nomination and restricting the nomination by workers to his family members.
Social Security (A) Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC)
The ESI Scheme has also been extended to certain new areas covering approximately 1.27 lakh additional workers with effect from 01.05.2009 to 30.04.2010. The functioning of the Employees‟ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) is being improved through the use of information and communication technology. “A Pehchan Identity Card” for Employees‟ State Insurance Corporation Beneficiaries has been launched at Bangalore on 25th August, 2009. Every beneficiary will be issued two Smart Cards – one for himself and another for family in order to enable Insured Person‟s family to have treatment at a separate locations where the family is living in case the Insured Person is working outside his place of residence. With the help of these Smart Cards, the beneficiary can have the treatment in any Employees‟ State Insurance Corporation Hospitals through out the county since these Smart Cards have all the particulars and history of the Insured Person and his family embedded in the Cards. The wage ceiling for coverage of employees under the ESI Act, 1948 has been enhanced from Rs.10,000/- to Rs.15,000/- w.e.f. 01.05.2010.
ESIC has proposed to establish 17 Medical colleges, 12 Postgraduate Institutes of Medical Sciences and 09 Dental Colleges in 16 different States. Modernization / upgradation / expansion of ESI Hospitals at Noida, Basaidarapur, Rohini and Okhla in Delhi, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Rajajinagar (Bangalore), Bapunagar (Ahmedabad), Andheri, Kandivli and MGM Lower Parel in Mumbai, Madgaon, Coimbatore, Trauma Centre in Sarojininagar (Lucknow), Pandunagar (Kanpur), Bari Brahmna (Jammu), Choudwar, Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in Orissa, Namkum (Ranchi) and Sanathnagar in Andhra Pradesh is under implementation. Construction of hospitals at Tirupur and Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu), Peeniya (Bangalore), Sanathnagar Super Specialty (Andhra Pradesh), Haldia (West Bengal), Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), Haridwar and Udhamsinghnagar (Uttarkhand),
Ankleshwar (Gujarat), Bhiwadi (Rajasthan) and Corlim (Goa) is in progress. inaugurated. Sophisticated equipments i.e. MRI & CT scan have been installed in ESIC Hospitals at Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. The hospital at Gurgaon (Haryana) has been
(B)
Employees Provident Fund Organization The „Modernization Project‟ is being implemented with technical assistance of National Informatics Centre (NIC) and has been implemented in 28 offices of EPFO as on 31st March, 2010.
This project is conceptualized in two phases. The first phase that has currently been implemented covers services that are rendered to members i.e. claims settlement and issue of annual accounts slips. The following benefits are likely to accrue: Claims settlement time: The time period for settlement of a claim of any type is expected to be less than 30 days. Annual accounts slips of members: The shift from the present manual to the new system would make accounts slip preparation both quicker and accurate. Electronic payments: In the new system payments to members would be made through NEFT (National Electronic Fund Transfer) mode. This will ensure that claims once settled will be credited to members‟ accounts within 2 days instead of sending cheques by post which is time consuming. Database update and cleaning: The new system has a robust database in the backend and provides opportunity for gradual cleaning and updating of the database. A clean and updated database translates into better servicing for members.
Child Labour In pursuance of Government‟s commitment to eliminate child labour in hazardous areas, the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme, covers 271 districts. Over 6.33 lakh children
from special schools of NCLPs have been mainstreamed into the formal education system so far. The Mid Day Meal Scheme of Ministry of Human Resource Development has been extended to children of NCLP schools w.e.f. 1st October, 2009, by way of convergence. Proposal to prohibit employment of children in „Circus‟ and „Caring of Elephants‟ have been approved by the Technical Advisory Committee on Child Labour and further action is being taken to notify accordingly.
Employment and Training
Vocational Training with a view to creating a world-class skilled labour force is being given maximum importance. To help the youth build their career, training courses are offered through a network of 2133 Industrial Training Institutes and 5906 Industrial Training Centres located all over the country. About 1.12 million training seats area available in these Institutes. Action continued for upgradation of 100 ITIs with domestic resources, 400 ITIs with World Bank assistance and 1396 ITIs in specific trade and skills under Public Private Partnership mode so as to create Centres of Excellence for producing multiskilled workforce of world standard. The „Skill Development Initiative‟ Scheme was started in 200607 for the school drop-outs and existing workers especially in the informal sector. Action was taken to achieve the objective
to train one million persons in first five years in Modular Employable Skills (MES) framework and thereafter one million every year. During last one year DGE&T has been able to train about 18.89 lakh persons through different schemes / institutes as follows:
Scheme
No. of Institutes
Persons / Trainees trained
Craftsmen Scheme
Training
8,039 ITIs / ITCs 24,815 Enterprises 5,249 Vocational Training Providers
11.16 lakh
Apprenticeship Training Scheme Skill Development
2.79 lakh
4.66 lakh
Initiative
DGE&T Institutes
31 Central Institutes
0.28 lakh
Total
18.89 lakh
Steps are being taken to establish 1500 new ITIs and 5000 Skill Development Centres in PPP mode in unserviced blocks of the country in order to provide training facilities in such areas. All the 969 Employment Exchanges in the country are being modernized in Public Private Partnership at a cost of Rs.2,167 crore under e-governance plan. Under the Project, a new
national web-portal will be developed, which on the one hand
will have the requirement of the industry and on the other hand, the available skilled manpower. This software will match the requirement of the industry with the skilled manpower available in the country. In addition, these Employment Exchanges will also assess the existing competencies of the job-seekers, provide them counseling and guidance and help in their placement in the industry. The National Employment Policy is being formulated and the Report on Employment is under preparation.
Impact of Economic Slow-down on Employment
The Labour Bureau conducted six quarterly quick employment surveys to assess the impact of economic slowdown on employment in India covering units pertaining to important sectors like textiles, leather, metals, automobiles, gems and jewellery, transport, IT/BPO and handloom / powerloom etc. during October – December, 2008 to January-March, 2010. During the quarters falling in the financial year 2009-10 (i.e. March, 2010 over March, 2009) overall employment in the above stated sectors increased by 10.66lakh. Steps have been initiated to undertake an annual survey of employment and unemployment.
Industrial relations
In the Central Sphere about 315 instances of threatened strikes were reported, of which 313 cases were averted during last year, the success rate being 99.36%. Settlements were brought about in major ports and docks and banking industry in the Central Sphere. Settlement in Jute Industry in West Bengal in State Sphere was facilitated.
Others Government had constituted a high level task force under the Chairmanship of Principal Secretary to Hon‟ble Prime Minister to consider various issues raised by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Associations. The Task Force formed seven Sub-Groups, one of which was „Sub-Group on Labour‟ under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Labour & Employment). The subGroup submitted its Report. It recommended preparation of one single form with separate entries for ESIC and EPFO for depositing their respective contributions, making contribution towards three EPF Schemes through one cheque, expediting computerization of EPFO and ESIC organizations etc.
Implementation of these measures will help the MSME sector.
Government of India has ratified ILO Convention No 127 concerning Maximum Weight. The Convention provides that no worker shall be required or permitted to engage in the manual transport of a load which by reason of its weight is likely to
jeopardize his health or safety. For manual lifting of weight an upper limit of 50 kg. has been fixed.
Government of India participated effectively in the deliberations at various international fora like International labour Conference of ILO to evolve ILO Social Justice Declaration 2008, „Global Jobs Pact‟ 2009‟. Recent Events (30th September – 1st October, 2009 ) A tripartite Workshop on Maritime Labour Convention 2006 of ILO was jointly organized at Mumbai by Ministry of Labour & Employment, Ministry of Shipping and ILO to assess our readiness for ratifying this convention. (31st August – 1st September, 2010) A tripartite Workshop on C-188 (Fisheries) Convention of ILO was organized in Cochin by Ministry of Labour & Employment, Ministry of Agriculture and ILO to ascertain the views of various stakeholders regarding provisions of this Convention. (29th September, 2010) A one day Seminar on Child Labour & Protectionism was organized at VVGiri NLI.
Millennium Development Goals: Review of progress by the UN General Assembly (20-22 September 2010) A High-level Plenary Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly has been held from 20 to 22 September 2010, to accelerate progress towards the MDG target of 2015. In preparation for the meeting, the ILO and other UN agencies have garnered reports on case studies that can be replicated and scaled up, highlighting lessons learned, identifying remaining challenges, and making recommendations for progress.
The Global Wages Report 2008/09 The Global Wages Report 2008/09 was released in November 2008. ILO has brought out its update which provides indications of wage trends up to the second quarter of 2009 in a number of countries around the world. A comprehensive assessment will be provided in the next Global Wage Report in 2010 Voices on Social Justice The International Labour Organization unanimously adopted the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization on 10 June 2008. This is the third major statement of principles and policies adopted by the International Labour Conference since the ILO‟s Constitution of 1919. It builds on the Philadelphia Declaration of 1944 and the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of 1998. The 2008 Declaration expresses the contemporary vision of the ILO‟s mandate in the era of globalization. This landmark Declaration is a powerful reaffirmation of ILO values. It is the outcome of tripartite consultations that started in the wake of the Report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization. By adopting this text, the representatives of governments, employers‟ and workers‟ organizations from 182
member States emphasize the key role of our tripartite Organization in helping to achieve progress and social justice in the context of globalization. Together, they commit to enhance the ILO‟s capacity to advance these goals, through the Decent Work Agenda. The Declaration institutionalizes the Decent Work concept developed by the ILO since 1999, placing it at the core of the Organization‟s policies to reach its constitutional objectives. Each year, World Day for Social Justice draws global attention to efforts to eradicate poverty and promote social well-being, equality and full and decent employment In 2010 this search for a "society for all" has faced severe challenges brought on by the global economic and jobs crises, resurging poverty and long-term social uncertainty. Therefore ILO has launched year-long Voices on Social Justice Campaign to provide a global platform for perspectives on what social justice means today and how it might be achieved in the years to come. The voices will be joined by those of other commentators, academics, activists and leaders throughout the year. 99th Session of the International Labour Conference, 2010 The 99th session of the International Labour Conference, 2010 was held in Geneva, Switzerland. Each Member State was represented by a delegation consisting of two government delegates, an employer delegate, a worker delegate and their respective advisers. For 2010, the agenda included: - Decent work for domestic workers (first year of a standard-setting committee) - HIV/AIDS in the world of work (second and final year of a standardsetting committee) - A general discussion on the strategic objective of employment - A review of the follow-up to the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
A Tripartite Indian delegation led by Hon‟ble LEM, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge participated in this International Labour Conference. Labour Cases No Discrimination in Pay in Similar Posts
(Reference : Railway Sentinel, September, 2010).
S/Shri Sanjay Kumar Sharma and Pramod Kumar Mehra, Mech/Elect Signal Maintainers in scale of Rs 5000-8000 in Ratlam Division of Western Railway were selected and promoted as Signal Inspector in Gr III in same scale Rs 5000-8000 in 1999. However, their pay was not fixed as per Rule 1316 of Indian Railway Establishment Code. However, persons promoted in 2005 have been given benefit of fixation of their pay in terms of the said Rule 1316. The matter went up to the Tribunal and thereafter in Appeal before High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Indore. The Administration‟s plea was that this benefit is not given with retrospective effect. Hon‟ble High Court (in Writ Petition Nos 2728/2008 and 2729/2008) overruled the contention of the Administration and ruled that fair play, equity and justice demands that once it is recognized that the post if of higher responsibility, this benefit have to be extended to all those who are in similar situations. (Judgment dated 31.3.2009 in writ Petition Nos. 2728/2008 and 2729/2008 High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Indore). Railway went in appeal before the Supreme Court (CC 2217622177/2009). Hon‟ble Supreme Court on 8.3.2008 made the following order :“The learned Counsel for Union of India very fairly states that the Special Leave Petition against the case relied upon by the High court has been dismissed by this Court. We accordingly dismiss the present Petition as well.”
This matter is referred to GM (E)CCG since then. WREU has asked Western Railway to honour the judgment of CAT/High Court/Supreme Court and give benefit of Rule 1316 of IREC to all Mech/Elect Signal Maintainers in scale of Rs 5000-8000 and who after selection have been promoted as Signal Inspector in the same scale Rs 5000-8000 irrespective of the year in which they have been promoted at the earliest and avoid contempt of court.
IIWE/LIB/DOC/2010/
VOLUME 1 Compiled By : Dr Asmita Deshmukh
Highlights
Labour Law Amendments New Law Enacted New Policy Important Schemes for Unorganized Sector Workers Wages Social Security International Labour Organisation Labour Cases
Labour Law Amendments
Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923 The Act will now be called „The Employees‟ Compensation Act, 1923‟. The compensation under the Act has been
enhanced from Rs. 80,000/- to Rs. 1,20,000/- in case of death. From Rs. 90,000/- to Rs. 1,40,000/- in case of disablement. Rs. 2500/- to Rs. 5000/- towards funeral expenses. The employee shall be reimbursed the actual treatment of injuries caused during the course of employment without any ceiling. A new section 25A has been added for the Commissioner to dispose the matter relating to compensation under this Act within a period of three months from date of reference. The wage ceiling limit for working out compensation has been increased from Rs. 4000/to Rs. 8000/- per month. The Amendment Act was notified on 23.12.2009 and made effective from 18.01.2010.
Payment of Gratuity act, 1972
The Act has been amended to cover teachers in educational institutions in the Act. The Amendment Act was notified on 31.12.2009 and was made effective from 03.04.1997. The ceiling on gratuity has been enhanced from Rs. 3.5 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh. The Amendment Act was notified on 18.05.2010 and made effective from 24.05.2010.
Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948
The Act has been amended to improve the quality of delivery of benefits under the scheme and also to enable ESI infrastructure to be used to provide health care to workers of unorganised sector. The Amendment Act was notified on 25.05.2010 and made effective from 01.06.2010.
The Plantation Labour Act, 1951
The Act has been amended to provide safety and occupational health care to plantation workers. The Amendment Act was notified on 18.05.2010 and made effective from 01.06.2010.
The Payment of Wages
The Act was amended by enhancing the wage
Act, 1936
ceiling from Rs. 1600/- to Rs. 6500/- per month. The amendment was notified on 06.09.2005 and made effective from 09.11.2005. The wage ceiling has been subsequently increased to Rs. 10,000/pm through notification w.e.f. 08.08.2007. The wage ceiling enhanced from Rs. 1600/- to Rs. 10,000/- per month to cover workmen working in supervisory capacity, and to provide direct access for the workman to the Labour Court or Tribunal in case of disputes arising out of Section 2( a ) of the Act. The scope of qualifications of Presiding Officers of Labour Courts has been expanded. The Labour Court or Tribunal has been empowered to execute Grievance Redressal Machinery and the awards. The Amendment Act was notified on 19.8.2010 and made effective from 15.9.2010.
The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
The Payment of Bonus Act 1965
Calculation ceiling and eligibility limit under the Act have been enhanced from Rs. 2500/- to Rs. 3500/- and from Rs. 3500/- to Rs. 10,000/- per month respectively. The amendment was notified on 13.12. 2007 and made effective from 01.04.2008. The contract workers engaged in construction activities have also been covered.
The Apprentices Act, 1961
The Act has been amended to provide for reservation for other Backward Classes. The amendment was notified on 28.01.2008 and made effective from 01.02.2008 The Act was amended to enhance the medical bonus from Rs.250/- to Rs. 1000/- and also empowers the Central Government to increase it from time to time before every three years, by way of notification in the Official Gazette, subject to maximum of Rs. 20,000/-. The amendment was notified on 15.04.2008 making it effective from the same date. The Medical Bonus has further been increased from Rs. 1000/- to Rs. 2500/- w.e.f. 11.08.2008.
The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
New Law Enacted
The Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008
The Act enacted to include formulation of welfare schemes for different sections of the unorganized sector workers on matters relating to : (a) life and disability cover, (b) health and maternity benefits, (c) old age protection, and (d) any other benefits that may be decided by the Central Government and constitution of a National Social Security Advisory Board at Central level and similar Boards at State level. The Act was notified on 31.12.2008 and made effective from 16.05.2009.
New Policy
The National Policy on Safety, Health and Environment at Workplace, the National Policy on HIV / AIDS and the World of Work have been announced.
Important Schemes for Unorganized Sector Workers A Health Insurance Scheme for the poor titled „Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana‟ (RBSY) is being implemented form 01.04.2008. The scheme envisages provision of issuance of a smart card to the beneficiary. This card will facilitate cashless transaction up to Rs. 30,000/-. 27 States / Union Territories have initiated the process to
implement the scheme. About 1.66 crore cards have been issued so far. The scheme is being extended to cover other target groups like construction workers, railway porters, Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGREGA) beneficiaries who have worked for more than 15 days during the preceding financial year etc. The National Social Security Fund has been set up for unorganized sector workers with an initial corpus of Rs 1000 crore. This fund will support schemes for weavers, toddy-tappers, rickshaw pullers, beedi workers etc.
Wages
The National Floor Level Minimum Wage has been revised from Rs 80/- per day to Rs 100/- per day w.e.f. 01.11.2009. In the Central Sphere, minimum rates of wages were revised for workers in the Employment of “construction”, “loading and unloading” and “non-coal mining” w.e.f. 20.05.2009 in the range of Rs 120/- to Rs 240/- per day for different categories of workers. The Central Government has notified the Payment of Wages (Nomination) Rules, 2009 defining the procedure for nomination and restricting the nomination by workers to his family members.
Social Security (A) Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC)
The ESI Scheme has also been extended to certain new areas covering approximately 1.27 lakh additional workers with effect from 01.05.2009 to 30.04.2010. The functioning of the Employees‟ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) is being improved through the use of information and communication technology. “A Pehchan Identity Card” for Employees‟ State Insurance Corporation Beneficiaries has been launched at Bangalore on 25th August, 2009. Every beneficiary will be issued two Smart Cards – one for himself and another for family in order to enable Insured Person‟s family to have treatment at a separate locations where the family is living in case the Insured Person is working outside his place of residence. With the help of these Smart Cards, the beneficiary can have the treatment in any Employees‟ State Insurance Corporation Hospitals through out the county since these Smart Cards have all the particulars and history of the Insured Person and his family embedded in the Cards. The wage ceiling for coverage of employees under the ESI Act, 1948 has been enhanced from Rs.10,000/- to Rs.15,000/- w.e.f. 01.05.2010.
ESIC has proposed to establish 17 Medical colleges, 12 Postgraduate Institutes of Medical Sciences and 09 Dental Colleges in 16 different States. Modernization / upgradation / expansion of ESI Hospitals at Noida, Basaidarapur, Rohini and Okhla in Delhi, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Rajajinagar (Bangalore), Bapunagar (Ahmedabad), Andheri, Kandivli and MGM Lower Parel in Mumbai, Madgaon, Coimbatore, Trauma Centre in Sarojininagar (Lucknow), Pandunagar (Kanpur), Bari Brahmna (Jammu), Choudwar, Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in Orissa, Namkum (Ranchi) and Sanathnagar in Andhra Pradesh is under implementation. Construction of hospitals at Tirupur and Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu), Peeniya (Bangalore), Sanathnagar Super Specialty (Andhra Pradesh), Haldia (West Bengal), Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), Haridwar and Udhamsinghnagar (Uttarkhand),
Ankleshwar (Gujarat), Bhiwadi (Rajasthan) and Corlim (Goa) is in progress. inaugurated. Sophisticated equipments i.e. MRI & CT scan have been installed in ESIC Hospitals at Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. The hospital at Gurgaon (Haryana) has been
(B)
Employees Provident Fund Organization The „Modernization Project‟ is being implemented with technical assistance of National Informatics Centre (NIC) and has been implemented in 28 offices of EPFO as on 31st March, 2010.
This project is conceptualized in two phases. The first phase that has currently been implemented covers services that are rendered to members i.e. claims settlement and issue of annual accounts slips. The following benefits are likely to accrue: Claims settlement time: The time period for settlement of a claim of any type is expected to be less than 30 days. Annual accounts slips of members: The shift from the present manual to the new system would make accounts slip preparation both quicker and accurate. Electronic payments: In the new system payments to members would be made through NEFT (National Electronic Fund Transfer) mode. This will ensure that claims once settled will be credited to members‟ accounts within 2 days instead of sending cheques by post which is time consuming. Database update and cleaning: The new system has a robust database in the backend and provides opportunity for gradual cleaning and updating of the database. A clean and updated database translates into better servicing for members.
Child Labour In pursuance of Government‟s commitment to eliminate child labour in hazardous areas, the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme, covers 271 districts. Over 6.33 lakh children
from special schools of NCLPs have been mainstreamed into the formal education system so far. The Mid Day Meal Scheme of Ministry of Human Resource Development has been extended to children of NCLP schools w.e.f. 1st October, 2009, by way of convergence. Proposal to prohibit employment of children in „Circus‟ and „Caring of Elephants‟ have been approved by the Technical Advisory Committee on Child Labour and further action is being taken to notify accordingly.
Employment and Training
Vocational Training with a view to creating a world-class skilled labour force is being given maximum importance. To help the youth build their career, training courses are offered through a network of 2133 Industrial Training Institutes and 5906 Industrial Training Centres located all over the country. About 1.12 million training seats area available in these Institutes. Action continued for upgradation of 100 ITIs with domestic resources, 400 ITIs with World Bank assistance and 1396 ITIs in specific trade and skills under Public Private Partnership mode so as to create Centres of Excellence for producing multiskilled workforce of world standard. The „Skill Development Initiative‟ Scheme was started in 200607 for the school drop-outs and existing workers especially in the informal sector. Action was taken to achieve the objective
to train one million persons in first five years in Modular Employable Skills (MES) framework and thereafter one million every year. During last one year DGE&T has been able to train about 18.89 lakh persons through different schemes / institutes as follows:
Scheme
No. of Institutes
Persons / Trainees trained
Craftsmen Scheme
Training
8,039 ITIs / ITCs 24,815 Enterprises 5,249 Vocational Training Providers
11.16 lakh
Apprenticeship Training Scheme Skill Development
2.79 lakh
4.66 lakh
Initiative
DGE&T Institutes
31 Central Institutes
0.28 lakh
Total
18.89 lakh
Steps are being taken to establish 1500 new ITIs and 5000 Skill Development Centres in PPP mode in unserviced blocks of the country in order to provide training facilities in such areas. All the 969 Employment Exchanges in the country are being modernized in Public Private Partnership at a cost of Rs.2,167 crore under e-governance plan. Under the Project, a new
national web-portal will be developed, which on the one hand
will have the requirement of the industry and on the other hand, the available skilled manpower. This software will match the requirement of the industry with the skilled manpower available in the country. In addition, these Employment Exchanges will also assess the existing competencies of the job-seekers, provide them counseling and guidance and help in their placement in the industry. The National Employment Policy is being formulated and the Report on Employment is under preparation.
Impact of Economic Slow-down on Employment
The Labour Bureau conducted six quarterly quick employment surveys to assess the impact of economic slowdown on employment in India covering units pertaining to important sectors like textiles, leather, metals, automobiles, gems and jewellery, transport, IT/BPO and handloom / powerloom etc. during October – December, 2008 to January-March, 2010. During the quarters falling in the financial year 2009-10 (i.e. March, 2010 over March, 2009) overall employment in the above stated sectors increased by 10.66lakh. Steps have been initiated to undertake an annual survey of employment and unemployment.
Industrial relations
In the Central Sphere about 315 instances of threatened strikes were reported, of which 313 cases were averted during last year, the success rate being 99.36%. Settlements were brought about in major ports and docks and banking industry in the Central Sphere. Settlement in Jute Industry in West Bengal in State Sphere was facilitated.
Others Government had constituted a high level task force under the Chairmanship of Principal Secretary to Hon‟ble Prime Minister to consider various issues raised by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Associations. The Task Force formed seven Sub-Groups, one of which was „Sub-Group on Labour‟ under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Labour & Employment). The subGroup submitted its Report. It recommended preparation of one single form with separate entries for ESIC and EPFO for depositing their respective contributions, making contribution towards three EPF Schemes through one cheque, expediting computerization of EPFO and ESIC organizations etc.
Implementation of these measures will help the MSME sector.
Government of India has ratified ILO Convention No 127 concerning Maximum Weight. The Convention provides that no worker shall be required or permitted to engage in the manual transport of a load which by reason of its weight is likely to
jeopardize his health or safety. For manual lifting of weight an upper limit of 50 kg. has been fixed.
Government of India participated effectively in the deliberations at various international fora like International labour Conference of ILO to evolve ILO Social Justice Declaration 2008, „Global Jobs Pact‟ 2009‟. Recent Events (30th September – 1st October, 2009 ) A tripartite Workshop on Maritime Labour Convention 2006 of ILO was jointly organized at Mumbai by Ministry of Labour & Employment, Ministry of Shipping and ILO to assess our readiness for ratifying this convention. (31st August – 1st September, 2010) A tripartite Workshop on C-188 (Fisheries) Convention of ILO was organized in Cochin by Ministry of Labour & Employment, Ministry of Agriculture and ILO to ascertain the views of various stakeholders regarding provisions of this Convention. (29th September, 2010) A one day Seminar on Child Labour & Protectionism was organized at VVGiri NLI.
Millennium Development Goals: Review of progress by the UN General Assembly (20-22 September 2010) A High-level Plenary Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly has been held from 20 to 22 September 2010, to accelerate progress towards the MDG target of 2015. In preparation for the meeting, the ILO and other UN agencies have garnered reports on case studies that can be replicated and scaled up, highlighting lessons learned, identifying remaining challenges, and making recommendations for progress.
The Global Wages Report 2008/09 The Global Wages Report 2008/09 was released in November 2008. ILO has brought out its update which provides indications of wage trends up to the second quarter of 2009 in a number of countries around the world. A comprehensive assessment will be provided in the next Global Wage Report in 2010 Voices on Social Justice The International Labour Organization unanimously adopted the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization on 10 June 2008. This is the third major statement of principles and policies adopted by the International Labour Conference since the ILO‟s Constitution of 1919. It builds on the Philadelphia Declaration of 1944 and the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of 1998. The 2008 Declaration expresses the contemporary vision of the ILO‟s mandate in the era of globalization. This landmark Declaration is a powerful reaffirmation of ILO values. It is the outcome of tripartite consultations that started in the wake of the Report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization. By adopting this text, the representatives of governments, employers‟ and workers‟ organizations from 182
member States emphasize the key role of our tripartite Organization in helping to achieve progress and social justice in the context of globalization. Together, they commit to enhance the ILO‟s capacity to advance these goals, through the Decent Work Agenda. The Declaration institutionalizes the Decent Work concept developed by the ILO since 1999, placing it at the core of the Organization‟s policies to reach its constitutional objectives. Each year, World Day for Social Justice draws global attention to efforts to eradicate poverty and promote social well-being, equality and full and decent employment In 2010 this search for a "society for all" has faced severe challenges brought on by the global economic and jobs crises, resurging poverty and long-term social uncertainty. Therefore ILO has launched year-long Voices on Social Justice Campaign to provide a global platform for perspectives on what social justice means today and how it might be achieved in the years to come. The voices will be joined by those of other commentators, academics, activists and leaders throughout the year. 99th Session of the International Labour Conference, 2010 The 99th session of the International Labour Conference, 2010 was held in Geneva, Switzerland. Each Member State was represented by a delegation consisting of two government delegates, an employer delegate, a worker delegate and their respective advisers. For 2010, the agenda included: - Decent work for domestic workers (first year of a standard-setting committee) - HIV/AIDS in the world of work (second and final year of a standardsetting committee) - A general discussion on the strategic objective of employment - A review of the follow-up to the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
A Tripartite Indian delegation led by Hon‟ble LEM, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge participated in this International Labour Conference. Labour Cases No Discrimination in Pay in Similar Posts
(Reference : Railway Sentinel, September, 2010).
S/Shri Sanjay Kumar Sharma and Pramod Kumar Mehra, Mech/Elect Signal Maintainers in scale of Rs 5000-8000 in Ratlam Division of Western Railway were selected and promoted as Signal Inspector in Gr III in same scale Rs 5000-8000 in 1999. However, their pay was not fixed as per Rule 1316 of Indian Railway Establishment Code. However, persons promoted in 2005 have been given benefit of fixation of their pay in terms of the said Rule 1316. The matter went up to the Tribunal and thereafter in Appeal before High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Indore. The Administration‟s plea was that this benefit is not given with retrospective effect. Hon‟ble High Court (in Writ Petition Nos 2728/2008 and 2729/2008) overruled the contention of the Administration and ruled that fair play, equity and justice demands that once it is recognized that the post if of higher responsibility, this benefit have to be extended to all those who are in similar situations. (Judgment dated 31.3.2009 in writ Petition Nos. 2728/2008 and 2729/2008 High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Indore). Railway went in appeal before the Supreme Court (CC 2217622177/2009). Hon‟ble Supreme Court on 8.3.2008 made the following order :“The learned Counsel for Union of India very fairly states that the Special Leave Petition against the case relied upon by the High court has been dismissed by this Court. We accordingly dismiss the present Petition as well.”
This matter is referred to GM (E)CCG since then. WREU has asked Western Railway to honour the judgment of CAT/High Court/Supreme Court and give benefit of Rule 1316 of IREC to all Mech/Elect Signal Maintainers in scale of Rs 5000-8000 and who after selection have been promoted as Signal Inspector in the same scale Rs 5000-8000 irrespective of the year in which they have been promoted at the earliest and avoid contempt of court.
