Labour Legislation.

– Industrialisation creates a number of social and economic

problems like employment of women and children, minimum wages, trade unions,
insanitary living quarters and deplorable working conditions in the factories, etc. Labour
laws are, therefore, enacted to facilitate their solutions, as ordinary civil laws are
inadequate to meet them. The State has adopted a progressive policy, and is keeping
pace with the labour policy of the Government of India and the standard laid down by the
International Labour Organisation. This has produced a plethora of legislation and their
administration. These laws also deal with the regulation of industrial relations between
the management and the workers.

The salient features of the Central and State Labour Acts in force in the district
are given hereunder : The Indian Factories Act of 1948 provides for the health, safety and
welfare of the workers. The Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishment Act, 1958,
regulates the conditions of work and terms of employment of workers engaged in shops,
commercial establishments, theatres, restaurants, etc. The Punjab Maternity Benefit Act,
1943, provides for the grant of cash benefits to women workers for specified periods
before and after confinements. The Employment of Children Act, 1938, prohibits the
employment of young children below the age of 15 years in certain risky and unhealthy
occupations. The payment of wages Act, 1936, regulates the k\timely payment of wages
without any unauthorized deductions by the employers. The Minimum Wages Act,
1948, ensures the fixation and revision of minimum rates of wages in respect of certain
scheduled industries involving hard labour. The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, provides
for the investigation, and settlement of industrial disputes by mediation, conciliation,
adjudication and arbitration., there is scope for payment of compensation in cases of lay-
off and retrenchment. The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, requires
employers in Industrial establishments to define precisely the conditions of employment
under them and make them known to their workmen. These rules, once certified, are
binging on the parties for a minimum period of six months. The Workmen’s
Compensation Act, 1923, provides for compensation to injured workmen of certain
categories and in the case of fatal accidents to their dependants if the accidents arose out
of and in the course of their employment. It also provides for payment of compensation
in the case of certain occupational diseases. The Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926,
recognizes the right of workers to organise into trade unions, when registered, have
certain rights and obligations and function as autonomous bodies. The Employees’ State
Insurance Act, 1948, provides for sickness benefit, maternity benefit, disablement benefit
and medical benefit. The Employees’ Provident Fund Act, 1952, seeks to make a
provision for the future of industrial worker after he retires or in case he is retrenched, or
for his dependents in case of his early death. The Punjab Industrial Housing Act, 1956,
provides for the administration allotment, realization of rent, etc., in connection with
quarters constructed under the Subsidized Industrial housing Scheme.

The labour welfare work, thus, covers a wide range of activities and in its present
form is widely recognised and is regarded as an integral part of the industrial system and
management.

The labour laws in the State are administered by the Labour Department headed
by the Labour Commissioner, Punjab. The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948, and
the Employees’ Provident Fund Act, 1952, are however, operated under the direction of
the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation and the Regional Provident Fund
Commissioner, Punjab, respectively. The Labour Commissioner is assisted in his work
by the Chief Inspector of Factories at the State headquarters, Labour Officers at circle
level, and Factory Inspectors and Labour Inspectors and other staff at district below :

The working of important legislative enactments is given below :

Industrial Relations. – The relations between the employees and the employer
are governed by the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and the machinery provided under it is
two-fold one is for the prevention of disputes by providing internal machinery in the form
of Works Committee and Welfare Officers, and the other consists of a permanent
Conciliation Officer, Conciliation Board, Court of Inquiry and Industrial Tribunal./ the
Conciliation Officer, Ludhiana, is responsible for enforcing the provisions of the Act. He
fosters good relations between the two sides of industry by removing, as far as possible,
the causes of friction and by timely redress of grievances of the parties.
 Even though the functions of the Conciliation Officer are purely advisory and he
has no direct power to make or vary awards or agreements, he has been successful in
bringing about a large number of agreements between the parties.5

Labour Law
Employment Context:-

Laws which deal with employees and employers and the relationship between them.
Labour laws cover things like job security, industrial agreements, strikes and conciliation
and arbitration.

Relevance Of Industrial Relations In Today’S Changing Scenario

The term industrial relations have a broad as well as a narrow outlook. Originally,
industrial relations were broadly defined to include the relationships and interactions
between employers and employees. From this perspective, industrial relations cover all
aspects of the employment relationship, including human resource management,
employee relations, and union-management (or labor) relations. Now its meaning has
become more specific and restricted. Accordingly, industrial relations pertains to the
study and practice of collective bargaining, trade unionism, and labor-management
relations, while human resource management is a separate, largely distinct field that deals
with nonunion employment relationships and the personnel practices and policies of
employers. It also includes the management of conflict between employers, workers and
trade unions when it arises.
Clearly, the nature of industrial relations is changing, the impetus for the same
being provided by the changing scenario. In the light of this statement it is important that
we look at some of these changes and understand the relevance of industrial relations
within their framework.
The Changing Scenario
The broad trend towards decline in employment in the manufacturing sector,
low union activity in sunrise sectors, decentralized collective bargaining, and direct
communication with and involvement of workers can be seen as efforts at political
restructuring of industrial relations.
In order to ensure that we are dealing with a changing scenario a comparative
study must be made wherein the current situation should be analyzed and contrasted with
the scenario in the past. For this purpose some changes have been identified and the role
and importance of industrial relations emphasized in each context.
Changing Political Scenario
The days of single party governments are over and with it are gone the days of
political stability. In...