september 2014
|
magis
37
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| new laws
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efficient governance systems.
An inclusive view
The use of thresholds such as size of em-
ployment to exclude vast sections of work-
force amounts to exclusionary governance.
According to Economic Census 2005 about
75 percent of total workers in India in 2005
were employed in establishments employ-
ing less than 10 workers, and these workers
are most likely to be not covered by most
labour laws save the Shops and Establish-
ments Act and the Minimum Wages Act,
1948. The coverage of all the workers by
separate legislations for micro and small
enterprises and medium and large establish-
ments would raise the floor-level labour
standards.
Fundamental Labour Rights
India has not ratified four of the eight ILO
Core Conventions concerning child labour
(C.138 and C.182), trade unions and col-
lective bargaining (C.87 and C98). Out of
185 countries, 153 have ratified conven-
tions covering these three areas. While
mere ratification does not lead to solutions,
the commitment of the Indian government
to decent work makes early ratification
imperative.
The Trade Unions Act, 1926, merely
provides for voluntary registration of trade
unions and not for recognition of trade
unions, which is more relevant for collec-
tive bargaining. Trade union recognition
is provided for by laws at the state level,
such as in Maharashtra. Legal amendments
providing for trade union recognition,
time-bound union registration, sharing of
information by parties for efficient collec-
tive bargaining, strong union democracy
and proscription of unfair labour practices
must be initiated.
An Effective Minimum
Wages Regime
The law on minimum wages and its
implementation urgently needs reforms.
For example, there is no definition of
‘minimum wages’ in the law. The penalties
prescribed in the law for violations of
this important socio-economic law are ab-
surdly low. Minimum wage boards are not
re-constituted in time and minimum wages
are revised after a considerable time
lag.
Complementary Institutions
The social actors need to resort to market
techniques such as negotiations, industrial
sanctions and so on to govern their world of
work – but what is missing is the facilita-
tive legal framework. At the same time, the
union movement needs to set its house in
order on the issue of method of determina-
tion of the bargaining agent. Five specific
labour reform measures in this regard are,
viz. (a) provision for method of recogni-
tion, (b) notification of ULPs, (c) deemed
registration of trade unions upon expiry
of a specified period, and (d) information
sharing for meaningful and productive col-
lective bargaining, and (e) strengthening of
trade union governance.
Safe and secure
Work Environment
Trade unions must focus on workplace
safety and health as a major national issue
and a labour reform agenda. The sorry tales
of non-payment or delay in payment of
compensation to the fatally injured workers
and the family of the deceased workers
reflect not only poor governance but also
weak monitoring by trade unions. The
must labour reform is the fast-tracking of
compensation to the industrial accidents,
especially the fatal ones. The erring em-
ployers and the slack enforcement agencies
must be penalised sufficiently.
Skill Building and Human
Resource Development
Trade unions must focus on skill building
though this has begun to receive policy
attention of late. Skill emphasis will shift
the debate from employment security to
employability. Trade unions must de-
mand just allocation of social resources
in building the human resources of the
country which would mean going beyond
the workplace issues to macro-economic
issues. The labour flexibility drive could
have grave social consequences in that with
lower levels of income and health hazards
including stress could lead to multiple
forms of deprivations not only for the
present workers’ generation but also for the
future generation. The working class cannot
provide adequately for the health (nutrition)
and education of their children. It is not
only the burden of public debt that poses
dangers to the posterity but human capital
deficit as well.
Smartening Industrial Relations
Governance systems
The inspector raj critique is a case of
overstatement. The introduction of self-
certification in some states and sectors,
relaxation in inspections in several states,
high person-power deficits and multiple
tasks of inspectorates in the labour depart-
ment have weakened the inspection regime.
Labour inspections and conviction rates
have significantly declined in the post-re-
form period. According to the Government
of Maharashtra, in 2010-11, each inspector
for minimum wages had to handle 5,062
establishments. With a workload of 100
inspections per month, inspectors cannot
cover the universe even in three years!
Penalties need to be kept high enough
to dissuade cheating. They need to be
inflation-indexed to sustain their bite. Most
penalties for violations are in the lower
range, that is, less than Rs 1,000 and only
the Factories Act imposes heavy penal-
ties (Rs 1-2 lakh in exceptional cases).
This also weakens the significance of the
critique of corruption by labour officers as
compared to other high-profile government
departments. Imprisonment for labour law
violations is often not invoked.
Due to the inadequate number of judicial
bodies and judicial officers, there are delays
in dispensation of justice. These are costly
not only for the workers but also for the
employers. The government must increase
the number of judicial bodies and personnel
proportionate to the workforce.
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