ILO Initiative on Contract Labour

Author(s): Bagaram Tulpule

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 32, No. 35 (Aug. 30 - Sep. 5, 1997), pp. L21-L22
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4405788
Accessed: 27-02-2017 15:21 UTC

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted
digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about
JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
http://about.jstor.org/terms

Economic and Political Weekly is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
Economic and Political Weekly

This content downloaded from 210.212.249.227 on Mon, 27 Feb 2017 15:21:42 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
 ILO Initiative on Contract Labour
Bagaram Tulpule

When governments of developing countries are increasingly adopting policies depriving regular workers of
job security and promoting contract labour in the name of labour market flexibility, it is in the interests of
all working class to devise strategies together to roll back the so-called economic reforms.

A WELCOME development relating to the Contract labour already provides employers paid to regular employees, the gap being
fast proliferating practice of employing with a highly flexible system of employment rarely less than 40 per cent and often as large
contract labour in industries and services which fits in well with the objective of a as 70 per cent of the regular workers' wages.
all over the world, is that it will feature as flexible labour market. Any move to regulate Besides, the fringe and terminal benefits
a substantive subject to be deliberated upon the contract system and provide greater payable to contract labour are very few if
at the annual conference of the International at all; (ii) Contract labourhas nojob security
protection to thejobs and service and working
Labour Organisation (ILO) this year. The conditions of contract workers would thereby giving to the principal employer a
aim will be to eventually adopt suitable naturally be viewed as running counter to high degree of flexibility in the volume of
instruments: convention and/or recom- that objective. The indifference of our labour employed; (iii) Enforcing high work
mendation for discouraging the proliferation
government in replying to the ILO norms on contract labour is easy since such
of this system, and for regulating the questionnaire on contract labour may have labour is highly vulnerable to summary
conditions of employment and work of labour
this as the background. dismissal; (iv) It has also been reported that
employed under the contract labour system.
As a part of the preparations for the ILO during recent years, government imposed a
That contract labour features on the ILO conference deliberations, ILO regional freeze on fresh recruitment of regular
conference agenda as a substantive subject offices are collecting factual information, employees and hence many public sector
is itself a recognition of the fact that the views and suggestions of all concerned on units are compelled to employ contract labour
contract labour system exposes the workers the subject. A seminar of trade union (TU) to make good the vacancies in regular cadres
concerned to severe exploitation without representatives from India was sponsored as and also to meet contingencies in the volume
effective means of protecting themselves a part of these preparations and was held on of work to be performed; (v) In most units
against such exploitation. It is also a March 26-28, 1997 in Mumbai. About 23 it was found that work which is perennial
recognition of the fact that regularemployees
leaders from the major national centres and and essential part of the work of the unit
of industries and services are also adversely
few resource persons participated in the is given out on contract in flagrant violation
affected by increasing employment of of the relevant law. Such work includes
seminar which had before it two status studies:
contract labour. one relating to employment of contract labourmaintenance and actual operation of equip-
It is not as if contract labour had never in the public sector and the other relating ment, transportation of materials within
featured in the deliberations of ILO. Some to the construction industry. The former and outside the premises of the unit, cleaning
thought was given to it in the course of study ws doneby the Maniben Kara Institute, and housekeeping, watch and ward duties,
discussion of a few earlier ILO instruments. an associate of Hind Mazdoor Sabha, and canteen work and so on. There are cases in
Those references, however, were incidental which contract workers are employed in
the other by he NICMAR under the direction
to the discussion of other subjects and not of K N Vaid. clerical work, stenography, office equipment
substantively focused on the conditions and The study relating to the public sector operation and so on. The practice of farming
problems of contract labour as such. drew information from some 27 medium and out production of parts and components that
Action preparatory to the actual discussion large enterprises mostly in the central sphere. go intotheunits' products is also widespread;
of the subject this year was launched by ILO It showed clearly that employment of contract (vi) A set of contractors remains on the scene
several months ago. A questionnaire seeking labour not only existed in all the enterprises in many of the units bidding for and securing
factual information and the views of memberstudied but that it has, with very few except- contracts of work as they arise. A bulk of
governments on the subject was issued from ions, proliferated and become more extensive the labour working under contractors also
the ILO office. A number of countries have during the past decade. The proportion of generally ramains on the scene though
already sent in their replies to this question- contract labour to the regular employees individual workers may work underdifferent
naire. Regrettably, however, government of varies from unit to unit but generally ranges contractors from time to time and also on
India has not done so yet. It is no secret that between 20 and 40 per cent. However, at one differentjobs; (vii) Contractlabouris largely
the so-called economic reforms launched by extreme it is of the order of hardly 2 per cent non-unionised because workers fear
our government in 1991 aiming, inter alia, while at the other extreme, as in the new victimisation at the hands of the contractors
at the promotion of a free market, view the Indira Gandhi Port and the international if they try to form unions. But in a few units,
Indian labour market as an excessively rigid airports, the number of contract workers is they are unionised usually with the active
one. Official efforts have been directed double that of regular employees. help from the unions of regular employees.
towards introducing greater flexibility in the Other significant features revealed by the In some cases, contract workers are organised
labour market, in other words, to make it study are as follows. The principal reasons in the same unions as the regular employees.
easier for employers to hire and fire workers There are also instances of unions of regular
for proliferation of the contract labour system
freely, and to regulate wages and other are: (i) The cost of employing contract labour employees raising and pressing demands on
service and working conditions and labour is way below that of an equivalent regular behalf of contract workers. In all such cases
costs in order to maximise what they view labour force. This is because wages paid to it is found that wages, other benefits and
as their competitiveness in the global market. contract workers are far lower than those working conditions of contract workers are

Economic and Political Weekly August 30, 1997 L-21

This content downloaded from 210.212.249.227 on Mon, 27 Feb 2017 15:21:42 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
significantly better than where these workers abolition of the contract system and recommended that all TU organisations
are entirely non-unionised, although still for regularisation of the workers concerned. should not only commit themselves, but
below those of regular workers. The act foreclosed this avenue and instead should be seen to be committed to furthering
By far the largest proportion of contract provided for the setting up of advisory the cause of contract labour. It was also
labour works in the construction industry. committees at the central and state levels to considered desirable that wherever possible,
In 1995-96, out of an estimated 12.9 million investigate into complaints of unjustified TUs of regular workers should throw their
workers in construction, 10.7 million were employment of contract labour and to make membership open for contract workers
contract workers. The study on this industry recommendations to the concerned employed in their unit. Where this is not
showedthatjob opportunities inthis industry government as to whether the system possible for any reason, the regular
are relatively goodeven forunskilled workers complained against was in fact unjustified employees' unions should help contr;a
while skilled workers are in great demand and needed to be abolished. The appropriate workers in all possible ways to form ilicir
everywhere. Because of this situation in the government is empowered to issue own unions. Such help should be financial
job market, wages even forunskilled workers notification for abolition of the contract as well as organisational and through training.
are not too low while skilled workers are labour system in specific cases where so It was also recommended that a parliamentary
virtual wage-makers. But since both recommended by the advisory committee. committee should be set up to review the
categories work under contractors, there is Such notifications when issued can be working of the contract labour act.
no security of employment nor any kind of contested by the principal employer in the While welcoming this initiative of the
fringe benefits or any social security. Work appropriate high court and, in appeal, in the ILO, one cannot fail to be struck by the irony
is very hard, working conditions harsh and Supreme Ccurt of India. This whole process, that it is coming at a time when under
living conditions deplorable. Man and wife, it has been found, is so time-consuming that pressure of other international agencies, the
both, and often even children, work and the it provides no effective protection to the governments of many developing countries
entire family lives at or near the site of work contract workers concerned. It must be are increasingly adopting policies calculated
in makeshift shelters. moving from place to conceded, however, that where the workers to deprive even regular workers ofjob security
place as the work site shifts. The workers' and unions concerned display the necessary and place restraints on increases in wages
children have little access to any opportunities determination and tenacity to pursue their and other benefits in the name of flexibility
of education. The contractor employing the complaints through all the tortuous legal in the labour market and international
workers have little interest in training them procedures under the act and the subsequent competitiveness of their industries. The real
to upgrade their skills, productivity and litigation up to the Supreme Court, the courts task in protecting the interests of contract
earnings. Workers have to acquire skills on have done justice to the contract workers in and other non-regular labour in the organised
the job through years of actual work. the specific cases. sector and of labour in the non-formal sector
The study revealed that construction The studies for both the public sector and at large is to resist and roll back these so
workers are largely illiterate, drawn from the construction industry brought out the called economic reforms.
scheduled castes or tribes, backward fact emphatically that the enforcement of the
communities and Muslims. Women contract labour (abolition and regulation)
constitute as much as a fourth of all act is far from effective. Whi!e one reason
New Books from Kanishka
construction workers under contract. Almost for the poor enforcement is thle laxity of the
90 per cent of these workers work in government enforcement machinery, it was LIBRARY TECHNIQUES
construction because they have no other found that conditions in construction are AND TECHNOLOGIES
such that enforcement of the act is inherently
choice and also because entry in this industry Perspectives in Multimedia
is relatively easy. difficult. The bulk of contractors in
Library Development
construction who actually do the work often
INEFFECTIVE LEGISLATION by S.N. Paruthi
as subcontractors of large construction
Volume-1
In 1970, govemment of India enacted companies, are small and are not themselves
legislation purporting to abolish/regulateconversant with the requiiemient of laws. Library Science Resources and
employment under the contract system. But They are inclined to avoi(l the botheramion Optimisation
the unanimous view of TUs in the public and costs involved in observing laws. The Volume-2
sectoris that the act has given little protectioncontract workers themselves beinig largely Library Informatics and
to contract labour, but, on the other hand, illiterate and unorganised, are equally Networking
has foreclosed some avenues of redress whichignorant of their rights under law. Volume-3
were available to them before the coming Apart from the two main studies, the
Cataloguing Guide for
of the act. Thus, prior to the passing of the
seminar had before it some notes on contract
Multimedia Libraries
act, contract workers or trade unions of labour presented by representatives of the
regular workers could make formal demandsparticipating organisations. The seminar
(Set in Three Volumes) Rs. 1450
on the principal employer for the abolition participants dividing themselves into three
of the contract system in specific jobs and separate groups framed answers to the ILO
for regularisation of the contract workers as questionnarie on the subject, suggested KANISHKA PUBLISHERS,
employees of the principal employer. amendments to the proposed conclusions for DISTRIBUTORS
Procedures under the Industrial Disputes the convention and recommendation on 4697/5-21 A, Ansari Road, Daryaganj,
Act could be resorted to if the employer didcontract labour and eXamined the New Delhi 110002 (India)
not concede the demand and the dispute effectiveness and impact of existing laws Phones: 327 0497, 328 8285
could go to adjudication where the industrial and practices on the subject and appropriate Fax: 11-328 0028 (KANISHKA)
tribunal could make an award directing TU reponses to them. One group strongly

L-22 Economic and Political Weekly August 30, 1997

This content downloaded from 210.212.249.227 on Mon, 27 Feb 2017 15:21:42 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms