"Workman" Under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

Workman Under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

Introduction

Hello, and welcome, we're diving into the concept of "workman" under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. This concept is central to understanding industrial disputes, as disputes can be raised by either a "workman" or an "employer."

Definition of Workman

The ID Act defines a workman as any person (including an apprentice) employed in any industry to do manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical, or supervisory work, for hire or reward. This definition includes those who have been dismissed, discharged, or retrenched in connection with a dispute. However, it excludes personnel employed in the armed forces, police, or those mainly in managerial or administrative roles with wages exceeding INR 6500.

Determining Factors

1. Courts have identified key factors in determining if a person is a "workman":Master-Servant Relationship: The existence of this relationship is crucial.
2. Nature of Main Function: When a person performs various functions, the main function should be considered.
3. Nature of Work: Whether manual, skilled, unskilled, technical, operational, clerical, or supervisory.
4. Exceptions: The exceptions mentioned in the definition should not be applicable.

Interpretation by Courts

1. Supervisory and Managerial Work: Purely managerial or supervisory roles are not considered workman. The nature of the main function and duties performed are crucial.
• Criteria for Exception: The person must be primarily employed in a supervisory capacity, earning more than INR 10000, and performing mainly managerial functions
• Managerial Functions: Include powers related to hiring, firing, leave, and policy decisions. Mere supervision of subordinates does not qualify.
2. Skilled and Unskilled Manual and Operational Work: Courts have not precisely defined these terms but generally exclude work requiring imagination or creativity. Manual work associated with physical labor is typically included.
• Exception: Ancillary creative work may be excluded, but activities like distributing pamphlets are considered manual work.
3. Part-Time and Full-Time Workman: The number of working hours doesn't matter; a master-servant relationship is essential. Independent contractors are not considered workmen.
• ID Act Uniformity: The Act applies to part-time, full-time, casual, daily wage, regular, or permanent workmen.

Conclusion

Courts have broadly interpreted the term "workman" to align with the objectives of the ID Act, focusing on duties and powers rather than designations. This approach ensures the Act's applicability in various work scenarios, enhancing its beneficial impact.

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West Bengal - Professions Tax website & Help Desk

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In exercise of the power conferred upon me under clause (o) of rule 2 of the West Bengal State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Rules, 1979 (hereinafter referred toas the said Rules), I hereby specify that in addition to the website specified in clause (o) of rule 2 of the said Rules, www.wbprofessiontax.gov.in shall also be treated as the website under the said.

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Minimum Wages Notification - Uttar Pradesh

Minimum Wages Notification - Uttar Pradesh w.e.f. 1st February 2024 to 31st July 2024

The UP government has issued a notification regarding the minimum wage for engineering units having a strength 50 or more than 50 workers for the period from Feb-24 to July-24.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Amendment Act, 2024

A Bill

A Bill further to amend the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. 

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Seventy- fifth Year of the Republic of India as follows:— 

1. (1) This Act may be called the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Amendment Act, 2024.

(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

2. In the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), 

in section 9:— (a)in sub-section (1), for the words "within a period of three months from the date of incident" and "within a period of three months from the date of last incident", the words "within a period of one year from the date of incident" and "within a period of one year from the date of last incident" respectively, shall be substituted; and (b)in the second proviso to sub-section (1), the words "not exceeding three months" shall be omitted. 

3. In the principal Act, section 10 shall be omitted

Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace

Uttarakhand Minimum Wages Rates w.e.f. 01-02-2024 to date: 31-07-2024

As per Decree No. 2492/36-1-2000-549 (S.T.)-84 dated 15-5-2000, All India Consumer Price Index 2016 = 200 above 426 points in engineering industries employing 50 or more employees. On the basis of the average index of 1851 from July, 2023 to December, 2023, the rates of Variable Dearness Allowance will be payable as per the following table-

Example - Dearness allowance to unskilled employees of establishments employing 50 to 500 persons on an average of Rs 1851 per month from 01-02-2024 to 31-07-2024 will be as follows -

(1851-426) 2535.00/426 = 8479.75 or 8480

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Maharashtra Minimum Rate of Wages w.e.f. 1 January 2024

Maharashtra Minimum Wages Rates for Shops & Commercial Establishments w.e.f. Jan 2024 to June 2024 in English

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Implementation of 4 labour codes stalled

The implementation of the four labour codes, passed by Parliament between 2019 and 2020 and which seek to bring sweeping changes to India’s job market, has been stalled. They are unlikely to take effect before the general election slated for 2024, people aware of the matter have said.

The four codes consolidated a complex web of 29 central labour laws. These are the Code on Wages, 2019; the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020; and the Code on Social Security, 2020. They have been both praised and criticised in equal measure.

Three key reasons are holding up the codes, the persons quoted above said. One, some states are yet to publish rules to set the codes in motion, as required, since labour is a subject over which both Centre and states have jurisdiction.

Two, talks between the Union labour ministry and unions have stalled and, three, the Centre is inclined to take all stakeholders on board for which there needs agreement on key provisions. Given that the Modi government had to withdraw the farm laws in 2021, the Centre does not want a situation where unions go on industrial strikes and disrupt the economy, one of them said.

“It was being hoped that all formalities regarding the labour codes would have been completed and they could take effect in the beginning of the financial year 2024, that is April 2023,” one official said, requesting anonymity.

Ravinder Himte, the general secretary of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), said there was no possibility of agreeing to some of the codes until the government accepted their recommendations, especially on the Industrial Relations Code and The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated BMS said it “whole-heartedly welcomed” the other codes.

The Code On Industrial Relations lays down new conditions on the right of workers to go on strike. Unions will now have to give 60 days’ strike notice. If proceedings are pending before a labour tribunal or the National Industrial Tribunal, workers cannot go on a strike for 60 days after they are concluded. These conditions apply to all industries. Earlier, workers could go on strike by giving between two weeks and six weeks of notice. Flash strikes will be outlawed.

A platform of 10 trade unions, barring the RSS-affiliated BMS, had urged labour minister Bhupender Yadav to scrap the four codes, saying they were anti-worker. “The codes are exploitative and represent a serious erosion of labour rights,” said TN Karumalaiyan of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions.

Currently, 31 states have published draft rules under the Code on Wages, while 26 states have come out with draft rules on occupation safety code. On the industrial relation code, preliminary processes have been completed by 28 states. A similar number have published draft rules on the social security law.

Maharashtra notified rules for the codes on March 20. The Union government had recently directed the Union Territories to speedily frame rules regarding the key industrial relation code, which have been complied with. These are the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Puducherry.

Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Bihar, and UT of Jammu and Kashmir, have framed required regulations under the new labour laws.