Changes brought to Labour laws by U.P and M.P governments
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Employment
In News:
The Uttar Pradesh government has approved an Ordinanceexempting businesses from all the labour laws except few for the next 3 years.
Madhya Pradesh government has also suspended many labour laws for the next 1000 days.
Key takeaways:
Uttar Pradesh:
Laws related to the following have become defunct:
Settling industrial disputes
Occupational safety
Health and working conditions of workers
Trade unions, contract workers, and migrant labourers
No relaxation in laws related to the following:
Bonded labour
Deployment of women and children
Timely payment of salaries
These changes will apply to both the existing businesses and the new factories being set up in the state.
Madhya Pradesh
Few important amendments are:
Employers can increase working hours in factories from 8 to 12 hours.
The factory registration will be done within a day, instead of 30 days.
The licence renewal will be done after 10 years, instead of a year.
Industrial Units will be exempted from majority of the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
Contractors employing less than 50 workers will be able to work without registration under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970.
Reasons for change in labour laws in both states:
To attract investment.
To encourage industrial activity.
To protect the existing employment.
To provide employment to workers. who have migrated back to their respective States.
To increase the revenue of states which have fallen due to closure of industrial units during Covid-19 lockdown.
The changes could lead to denying the rights of workers which is a violation of human and fundamental rights.
It may create insecurity among the workers.
The changes may lead to desperate conditions for workers.
Important value additions:
The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
It was enacted to promote industrial peace by providing appropriate machinery for amicable settlement of disputes arising between employers and employees.
