3/24/2018

A STUDY ON LABOUR LAWSWITH

REFERENCE TO VISAKHAPATNAM
PORT TRUST
CHAPTER-1
 INTRODUCTION

The law relating to labour in India deals mainly with the regulation of the contract of
employment under which the servant, or the employee, undertakes to work for his master, or the
employer, for hire or reward. Under the concepts of law, which, under British rule, were
imported into India from the common law of England, this relationship was treated mainly as a
contractual relationship. The Indian Contract Act, 1872 is based mainly on the law of contract as
interpreted by courts of law in England. In interpreting the provisions of this Act, the courts in
India borrowed heavily from the case law of English courts.

The central doctrine, which runs through the law of contract, is that the parties are free to make
their own contracts. The relationship between master and servant is a voluntary relationship into
which the parties may enter on terms laid down by themselves within the limitations imposed
only by the general law of contract. The law of contract, however, assumes that there is equal
freedom in the parties to enter into a contract, but shuts its eyes to the inequality inherent in the
employment relationship. It ignores the superior economic strength and the bargaining power of
the employer vis-a- vis the person who has to make a living getting employment, or perhaps
starves.

In India, legislation relating to labour has grown mainly in the twentieth century. Till the First
World War, such legislation was scanty. In the inter- war years, that is, between 1919 and 1939,
some essential legislation for the protection of labour was introduced. But the law relating to
labour, as we know it today, is mostly the product of the legislation passed after, or soon before
India achieved political independence in 1947.

The main source of labour law in India is legislation, but it is supplemented by judgments of
courts, delivered particularly in the sphere of adjudication of industrial disputes.

The earliest attempt of the government, or the state, to intervene in the field of labour, was
through certain protective measures to provide for the health and the safety of the Indian worker,
and to regulate hours of work in factories and other places of employment. Improvements have
been made in this respect from time to time and are a continuing process. Such legislation may
be conveniently dealt with under the heading of legislation relating to health, welfare, working
conditions and hours of work including leave and holidays of the Indian worker. The next
important heading under which labour legislation can be dealt with is 'social security' under
which we shall consider Acts like the Workmen's Compensation Act, the Employees' State
Insurance Act, Maternity Benefit Act, and legislation dealing with retrial benefits.

Legislation and judicial decisions relating to wages, bonus allowances, fringe benefits, regulation
of contract labour and other such matters would be another branch of the labour code of India.
Lastly, we shall examine legislation and case law relating to trade unions and trade or industrial
disputes, which has assumed greater and greater importance, as

 The state has sought to encourage trade unions and regulate industrial conflict by providing
machinery for settlement, arbitration and adjudication of industrial disputes, and imposed
restrictions on strikes and lock out, and the ordinary common law right of the employer to
hire and fire employees, taking disciplinary action against them or change their conditions of
service at his sweet will...

History of Labour laws:

Labour legislations enacted post independence of India have sought to tackle various problems
relating to working conditions, industrial safety, hygiene and welfare, wages, trade unionism,
social security, etc. Laws were also enacted to meet the special needs of specific industries and
commercial establishments, such as mines, plantations, factories, shops and establishments, etc.
With the declaration of a national emergency in 1975, anti-inflationary laws like Payment of
Bonus (Amendment) Act, 1975, the Equal Remuneration Ordinance, 1975, etc. were enacted
which led to further amelioration of workers in the country.

In the year 1991, the Indian Government adopted a policy of economic liberalisation. The
resultant enhancement of competition in the fast-changing markets raised a new set of
challenges since Indian labour laws (including the social security laws) were traditionally
inclined to be protective of labour and not conducive to competition in the labour markets.

With greater mobility and flexibility in the labour markets becoming the need of the hour,
employers have consistently argued in the last decade or so that the excessively pro-worker
nature of Indian labour laws in the organised sector is a cause for concern.

This has caused the Government to consider reforms in labour laws in India.
Recommendations designed to give the labour markets appropriate flexibility for it to be in a
position to compete in the international markets are under consideration. It can consequently
be said that the Indian job / labour market has started moving away from a „protectionist‟
and closed model towards a more competitive and open model.

Labour legislation in India has a history of over 125 years. Beginning with the Apprentice
Act, passed in 1850, to enable children brought up in orphanages to find employment when
they come of age, several labour laws covering all aspects of industrial employment have
been passed.

The labour laws regulate not only the conditions of work of industrial establishments, but
also industrial relations, payment of wages, registration of trade unions, certification of
standing orders, etc. In addition, they provide social security measures for workers. They
define legal rights and obligations of employees and employers and also provide guidelines
for their relationship.
 In India, all laws emanate from the Constitution of India. Under the Constitution, labour is a
concurrent subject, i.e., both the Central and State governments can enact labour legislation,
with the clause that the State legislature cannot enact a law which is repugnant to the Central
law. A rough estimate places the total number of enactments in India to be around 160.

The Apprentice Act of 1850 was followed by the Factories Act of 1881 and the first State act
was the Bombay Trade Disputes (and Conciliation) Act, 1934, followed by the Bombay
Industrial Disputes Act, 1938, which was amended during the war years. This was replaced
by the BIR Act, 1946.

The Central Government at this time introduced the Industrial Employment (Standing
Orders) Act, 1946. In 1947, the government replaced the Trade Disputes Act with the
Industrial Disputes Act, which was later modified. This law is the main instrument for
government intervention in industrial disputes.

After Independence, many laws concerning social security and regulation of labour
employment were enacted, such as the ESI Act, 1948, EPF and Miscellaneous Provisions
Act, 1952, Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. Etc.

Need For the Study:

Labor and employment laws give structure to the workplace, define what employees and
employers are responsible for and, in some cases, outline federal regulations to give both parties
necessary direction for resolving workplace conflict. These laws are important because they
enable businesses to devote more of their focus to productivity and profitability rather than
giving constant energy and resources to problem-solving.

Employer's Obligations

Without labor and employment laws, many small business owners would be unaware of their
obligations and responsibilities as employers. The Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, require that employers
adhere to fair employment practices in recruiting, hiring, training and retaining employees. Fair
employment practices include providing equal employment opportunities regardless of disability,
national origin, race or sex. The importance of labor and employment laws cannot be
understated. They create the framework for employers in constructing their recruitment and
selection processes, as well as the way they run their human resources departments in retaining
and promoting employees.

Workplace Structure

Labor and employment laws give structure to organizations and guidance to small business
owners who otherwise might not be inclined to adhere to laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards
Act. The FLSA mandates minimum wage and overtime laws for salaried and hourly, non-exempt
and exempt workers. It also provides guidance for employers on recordkeeping measures,
requiring that businesses maintain employees' pay records for two years in some instances
related to wages and up to three years for wage information when a collective bargaining
agreement is in force.

Collective Activity

Labor laws such as the National Labor Relations Act are important because they give peace of
mind to both union and nonunion workers. The NLRA protects the rights of employees to act
collectively -- not to join collectively -- to voice their concerns about wages, benefits and
working conditions. In addition, the Act requires employers and labor unions to work
collaboratively in negotiating collective bargaining agreements that set out the terms and
conditions of employment. For some union employees, collective bargaining agreements
represent job security, which makes the importance of labor laws like the NLRA that much more
essential for employees' peace of mind.

Integrity

Some labor laws preserve organizational integrity; they are useful for developing business
principles and workplace ethics. For example, whistle-blower laws contained in the Occupational
Safety and Health Act of 1970 and the Environmental Protection Act protect the identity of
employees and small-business owners who feel the company is engaging in activities that violate
public policy, laws, social or ethical responsibilities. They are important because some
organizations need this formality to remind owners that they should be good corporate citizens.

OBJECTIVES:

 To find out the prevailing labour laws in selected organization

 To evaluate existing practices of the organization in view of statutory obligations to be
followed as per act
 To Suggest suitable measures for enduring better implementation of labour laws

METHODOLOGY:
Data collection can be divided into two types...
i. Primary data.
ii. Secondary data

In This study I have used secondary method for collecting data.

 Secondary Data:
Secondary data means the data which is collected by someone else which have been already
passed through statistical process.

 Collection Of Secondary Data:

It is generally published to sources which have been collected originally for some other purpose.
The secondary data can be gathered from various sources like Books,Journals,
Magazines,websites,Newspapers, Interacting with Labour and Employees who are working in
that Organization.

LIMITATIONS:
Every study is under some limitations some of the limitations of the study are as Follows:

 The Study was Based on only Secondary Data

 The allotted four weeks of the time is not sufficient to make as in-depth study
 Gathering of required data and information has been challenging.

FRAME WORK OF THE STUDY

1.In the first chapter we will discuss about the introduction of the project, need for the study
and objectives of the study ,the methodology that we have used in this project and
limitations of the project.
2. And in the second chapter of the project we will discuss about the Industry profile.
3 In the third chapter we will discuss about the LABOUR LAWS of the company.

4. In the fourth chapter we will do all the suitable methodologies for the data that we
have collected in the company.
5. In the final chapter of the project we will give the all the suggestions and interpretations
that we have made in the project.