PANJAB UNIVERSITY REGIONAL CENTRE, LUDHIANA

LABOUR LAWS AND INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION

TOPIC – CONSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS FOR JUST AND HUMANE CONDITIONS OF WORK

SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF B.A. LL.B. (HONS.)

TENTH SEMESTER

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

MS. HOMA BANSAL SIDDHARTH S OOD

ROLL NO. 41
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

On the successful completion of this project, I would like to thank my respected mentor, Ms.
Homa Bansal, who despite all of her pre-occupations, provided me the assistance I needed
for the accomplishment of this project and guided me when I tread on the tenebrous
boulevard of ignorance. Had it not been for her support I wouldn’t be able to grasp the
cognizance of something as enthralling as this. I thank her profusely for providing me this
engrossing topic to work on which helped me to learn and relearn, to explore and re-explore
my knowledge.

Panjab University Regional Centre S IDDHARTH S OOD

Ludhiana ROLL NO. 41

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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

 D.B.M. Patnaik v. State of Andhra Pradesh, AIR 1974 SC 2092.................................. 9

 M.C. of Delhi v. Female Workers (Muster Roll), AIR 2000 SC 1274 ........................ 10

 M.K. Sharma and Ors. v. Bharat Electronics Limited and Ors., AIR 1987 SC 1792.... 9

 P. Sivaswamy v. State of Andhra Pradesh, AIR 1988 SC 1863 .................................. 10

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I ............................................................................................................................... 5
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 5

CHAPTER II .............................................................................................................................. 6
HISTORY OF LABOUR WELFARE IN INDIA ..................................................................... 6

CHAPTER III ............................................................................................................................ 7

LABOUR RIGHTS AND INDIAN CONSTITUTION ............................................................ 7

CHAPTER IV ............................................................................................................................ 9
CONSTITUTIONAL ASPECT OF JUST AND HUMANE WORKING CONDITIONS ....... 9

CHAPTER V ........................................................................................................................... 11
LEGISLATIVE APPROACH TO LABOUR WELFARE IN INDIA .................................... 11

CHAPTER VI .......................................................................................................................... 15
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................ 15

CHAPTER VII ......................................................................................................................... 16

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 16

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

Since the ancient times, labour class has been exploited, downtrodden and deprived of a
decent life by the higher class. This problem is prevalent not only in India but across the
globe. In India, the earliest form of labour exploitation can be traced back to the caste system.
Shudras, who were the lowest in the four varnas, were believed to have a natural duty to
serve the other three varnas, i.e., Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. They were considered
to be ‘unclean’ and were denied certain rights such as right to study the Vedas, to enter the
Temples, etc.

Karl Marx, a German philosopher, divided the society into two main classes of people: the
Bourgeoisie, who controlled the capital and means of production, and the Proletariat, who
provided the labour. Class struggle happens when the bourgeoisie pay the proletariat to make
things for them to sell. The workers have no say in their pay or what things they make. Since
they have to earn money to buy food, and jobs are the only source available to them, they
have no choice but to work for the rich. The rich become richer while they give the workers
bare minimum needed for survival.1

In the era of industrialization and globalization when the demand for labour is on an all-time
high, it becomes the primary duty of a State to take measures to prevent labour exploitation
and to promote labour welfare.

1
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_struggle#:~:text=According%20to%20Marxism%2C%20there%20are,i
s%20known%20as%20class%20struggle. (last accessed on 24 April 2022 at 6:15 pm).

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CHAPTER II
HISTORY OF LABOUR WELFARE IN INDIA

According to International Labour Organization (ILO), labour welfare can be defined as a

term, which is understood to include such services, facilities, and amenities as may be
established in or in the vicinity of undertakings to enable the persons employed in them to
perform their work in healthy, congenial surroundings and to provide them with amenities
conducive to good health and high morale. 2

Labour welfare activities arose in colonial India in reply to the need of cheap labours when;
following the abolition of slavery in 1833, British colonies started importing Indian labours.
The Apprentices Act of 1850 was passed with the objective of helping poor and orphan
children to learn various trades by apprenticing them to craftsmen. The Fatal Accidents Act
of 1853 aimed at providing compensation to the families of workmen who lost their lives as a
result of an ‘‘actionable wrong.”

It was the Factories Act of 1881 which paved the way for the foundation of series of labour
laws with the objective of bringing improvements in the working conditions of labourers. The
ILO in its founding year, in 1919, recognized the importance of labour in the economic and
social reconstruction of the world and suggested some changes in labour welfare schemes
operating in India. The then government of the day, subsequently, enacted the Factories Act
of 1922, which provided for the cap of 60 hours a week and 11 hours a day for both men and
woman. The minimum age for child worker was set at 12.3

When India got independence in 1947, the Constituent Assembly decided to insert certain
provisions in the Constitution itself to promote labour welfare. Accordingly, a number of
Articles were added in Part III (Fundamental Rights) and Part IV (Directive Principles of
State Policy) of the Constitution. These provisions/Articles have been discussed in the
following chapter.

2
https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/labour/labour-welfare/31839 (last accessed on 24 April 2022 at 6:17
pm).
3
https://blog.ipleaders.in/constitutional-values-labour-welfare/ (last accessed on 24 April 2022 at 6:21 pm).

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CHAPTER III
LABOUR RIGHTS AND INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Indian constitution provides numerous safeguards for the protection of labour rights. These
include Articles 14, 19, 21, 23 and 24 under Fundamental Rights and Articles 39, 39A, 41,
42, 43 and 43A under Directive Principles of State Policy. The latter can be collectively
termed as the “Magna Carta of Working Class in India”.

 Article 14 commands State to treat any person equally before the law.

 Article (19)(1)(c) grants citizens the right to form association or unions.

 Article 21 promises protection of life and personal liberty.

 Article 23 prohibits forced labour.

 Article 24 prohibits employment of children below the age of fourteen years.

 Article 39(a) provides that the State shall secure to its citizens equal right to an
adequate means of livelihood.

 Article 39A provides that the State shall secure the equal opportunities for access to
justice to its citizens and ensure that such opportunities are not denied by reason of
economic or other disabilities.

 Article 41 provides that within the limits of its economic capacity the State shall
secure for the Right to work and education.

 Article 42 instructs State to make provisions for securing just and humane conditions
of work and for maternity relief.

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 Article 43 orders the State to secure a living wage, decent condition of work and
social and cultural opportunities to all workers through legislation or economic
organisation.

 Article 43A provides for the participation of workers in Management of Industries

through legislation.4

4
Supra Note 3.

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CHAPTER IV
CONSTITUTIONAL ASPECT OF JUST AND HUMANE WORKING CONDITIONS

Article 42 of the Constitution runs as under:

“42. Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief
– The State shall make provisions for securing just and humane conditions
of work and for maternity relief.”

This Article exhibits the concern of the framers of the Constitution for the welfare of the
workers. The Courts may not enforce the Directive Principles as such, but they must interpret
laws so as to further and not hinder the goals set out in the Directive Principles.

By reading Article 21 along with several Directive Principles, such as, Articles 39(e) and (f),
41 and 42, the Supreme Court has given a very broad connotation to Article 21 so as to
include therein "the right to live with human dignity". This concept "derives its life breath
from the Directive Principles of State Policy".

In M.K. Sharma and Ors. v. Bharat Electronics Limited and Ors.5, the workers who were
working in the transmitter assembly room of the factory filed a writ petition before the
Supreme Court under Article 32 that they were exposed to the baneful effects of the X-ray
radiation. The respondent, i.e., Bharat Electronics Limited was a Public Sector Undertaking
involved in the manufacturing of electronic components and equipment including integrated
circuits, TV picture tubes and sophisticated Radars used by the country's defence
establishments. The workers alleged that the company had not been following the rules and
no care and attention had been devoted to their safety and protection at such a sensitive place.
The Court held that it was the duty of the employer under Article 42 to ensure proper
working conditions and that the employees had to be covered with appropriate insurance.

In D.B.M. Patnaik v. State of Andhra Pradesh6, the Supreme Court has suggested that Article
42 may 'benevolently' be extended to living conditions in jails. The barbarous and subtle
forms of punishment, to which convicts and undertrials are subjected to, offend against the
letter and spirit of our Constitution.

5
M.K. Sharma and Ors. v. Bharat Electronics Limited and Ors., AIR 1987 SC 1792.
6
D.B.M. Patnaik v. State of Andhra Pradesh, AIR 1974 SC 2092.

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In M.C. of Delhi v. Female Workers (Muster Roll) 7, the Delhi Municipal Corporation granted
maternity leave to regular female workers but denied the same to female workers on muster
roll on the ground that their service not having been regularized, they were not entitled to any
such leave. Invoking Article 42, and the concept of social justice, the Supreme Court
conceded the demand of these female workers for maternity leave. The Court has emphasized
that a just social order can be achieved only when inequalities are obliterated and everyone is
provided what is legally due.

In P. Sivaswamy v. State of Andhra Pradesh8, it has been held that Rs. 738/- paid per family
as financial assistance to the repatriated bonded labourers, set free from bonds, were
inadequate and not in conformity with Article 42 which required the State to make provisions
for just and humane conditions of work.

7
M.C. of Delhi v. Female Workers (Muster Roll), AIR 2000 SC 1274.
8
P. Sivaswamy v. State of Andhra Pradesh, AIR 1988 SC 1863.

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CHAPTER V
LEGISLATIVE APPROACH TO LABOUR WELFARE IN INDIA

The Parliament of India, in accordance with Part IV of the Constitution, is guided to make
provisions for ensuring security, health and prosperity of the workers. Therefore, it has
enacted a number of legislations with the objective of promoting labour welfare and
discouraging the exploitation of employees at the hands of employers. Some of these
legislations are as under:

 Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923

It is a social security legislation. It imposes statutory liability upon an employer to

discharge his moral obligation towards his employees when they suffer from physical
disabilities and diseases during the course of employment in hazardous working
conditions. The Act also seeks to help the dependents of the employee rendered destitute
by the “accidents” and from the hardship arising out from such accidents. The Act
provides for cheaper and quicker mode of disposal of disputes relating to compensation
through special proceedings than possible under the civil law.

 Trade Unions Act, 1926

It deals with the registration of trade unions, their rights, their liabilities and
responsibilities as well as ensures that their funds are utilised properly. It gives legal and
corporate status to the registered trade unions. It also seeks to protect them from civil or
criminal prosecution so that they could carry on their legitimate activities for the benefit of
the working class. The Act is applicable not only to the union of workers but also to the
association of employers.

 Payment of Wages Act, 1936

The main object of the Act is to eliminate all malpractices by laying down the time and
mode of payment of wages as well as securing that the workers are paid their wages at
regular intervals, without any unauthorised deductions. In order to enlarge its scope and

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provide for more effective enforcement, the Act empowers the Government to enhance the
ceiling by notification in future.

 Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946

The objects of the Act are: firstly, to enforce uniformity in the conditions of services under
different employers in different industrial establishments. Secondly, the employer, once
having made the conditions of employment known to his employed workmen, cannot
change them to their detriment or to the prejudice of their rights and interests. Thirdly,
with the express or written conditions of employment, it is open for the prospective worker
to accept them and join the industrial establishment; and lastly, for maintaining industrial
peace and continued productivity, the significance of the express written conditions of
employment cannot be minimised or exaggerated.

 Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

It makes provision for the investigation and settlement of industrial disputes and for
certain other purposes. It ensures progress of industry by bringing about harmony and
cordial relationship between the employers and employees. The Act was designed to
provide a self-contained code to compel the parties to resort to industrial arbitration for the
resolution of existing or apprehended disputes without prescribing statutory norms for
varied and variegated industrial relating norms so that the forums created for resolution of
disputes may remain unhampered by any statutory control and devise rational norms
keeping pace with improved industrial relations reflecting and imbibing socio-economic
justice.

 Minimum Wages Act, 1948

It prescribes minimum wages in all enterprises, and in some cases, those working at home
as per the schedule of the Act. Central and State Governments can and do revise minimum
wages at their discretion. The minimum wage is further classified by nature of work,
location and numerous other factors at the discretion of the Government. The minimum

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wage ranges between Rs. 143/- to Rs. 1,120/- per day for work in the so-called central
sphere. State Governments have their own minimum wage schedules.

 Factories Act, 1948

The main object of the Act is to ensure adequate safety measures and to promote the
health and welfare of the workers employed in factories. The Act also makes provisions
regarding employment of women and young persons (including children and adolescents),
annual leave with wages, etc. The Act covers all manufacturing processes and
establishments falling within the definition of “factory”. Unless otherwise provided, it is
also applicable to factories belonging to Central and State Governments.

 Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952

This Act was enacted to provide institution of Provident Fund for workers in six specified
industries with provision for gradual extension of the Act to other industries/classes of
establishments. The Act is now applicable to employees drawing pay not exceeding Rs.
6,500/- per month. The term pay includes basic wages with dearness allowance, retaining
allowance (if any), and cash value of food concession.

 Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

Maternity benefits are aimed to protect the dignity of motherhood by providing for the full
and healthy maintenance of women and her child when she is not working. The Act is
applicable to mines, factories, circus industry, plantations, shops and establishments
employing ten or more persons. It can be extended to other establishments by the State
Governments. Any woman employee who worked in any establishment for a period of at
least 80 days during the 12 months immediately preceding the date of her expected
delivery, is entitled to receive maternity benefits under the Act. The employer is required
to pay maternity benefits, medical allowance, maternity leave and nursing breaks.

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 Payment of Bonus Act, 1965

The object of the Act is to maintain peace and harmony between labour and capital by
allowing the employees to share the prosperity of the establishment and prescribing the
maximum and minimum rates of bonus together with the scheme of “set-off” and “set on”.
It not only secures the right of labour to share in the profits but also ensures a reasonable
degree of uniformity.

 Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972

Gratuity is a lump sum payment made by the employer as a mark of recognition of the
service rendered by the employee when he retires or leaves service. The Act provides for
the payment of gratuity to employees engaged in factories, mines, oilfields, plantations,
ports, railway companies, shops or other establishments. It has been amended from time to
time to bring it in tune with the prevailing situation. The recent amendments include the
enhancement of the ceiling on amount of gratuity from Rs. 3.50 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh and
widening the scope of the definition of “employee”.

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CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSION

As workers or labourers are one of the major factors for the economic development, there
betterment is of utmost importance for any country. The Government of India has made
consistent efforts to improve not only the working conditions but also the life of the labour
class. It has not only brought numerous legislations but has also ensured that timely
amendments are made to keep pace with the changing demands of time.

As recent as 2020, four new Labour Codes were enacted to simplify and modernize labour
regulation. The object was to facilitate employment growth while protecting workers' rights.
They were introduced on the recommendations of the Second National Commission on
Labour, 2002 and have replaced 29 existing Labour Laws. These Codes are as under:

1. Code on Wages: It aims to regulate wage and bonus payments in all employments, i.e.,
industry, business, trade and manufacture.

2. Industrial Relations Code: It aims to consolidate and amend the laws relating to Trade
Unions, conditions of employment in industrial establishment or undertaking,
investigation and settlement of industrial disputes.

3. Social Security Code: It aims to extend social security to all employees and workers either
in the organized or unorganized or any other sectors.

4. Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code: It aims to consolidate and
amend the laws regulating the occupational safety, health and working conditions of the
persons employed in an establishment.9

9
https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/four-labour-codes-which-replaced-existing-labour-laws-
1606742718-1 (last accessed on 24 April 2022 at 6:25 pm).

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CHAPTER VII
REFERENCES

BIBLIOGRAPHY –

1. Jain M.P., Indian Constitutional Law, LexisNexis, Delhi, Eighth Edition, 2018.
2. Kumar Narendra, Constitutional Law of India, Allahabad Law Agency, Faridabad,
Ninth Edition, 2016.
3. Study Material Executive Programme on Industrial, Labour and General Laws by The
Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

WEB SOURCES –

1. https://blog.ipleaders.in/constitutional-values-labour-welfare/
2. https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/labour/labour-welfare/31839
3. https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_struggle#:~:text=According%20to%20Marxis
m%2C%20there%20are,is%20known%20as%20class%20struggle.
4. https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/four-labour-codes-which-replaced-
existing-labour-laws-1606742718-1
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_in_India

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