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LABOUR LAWS RELATED ISSUES
Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment
- We discuss three concepts under this heading today
- The Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979
- Civil Services and lateral entry
- Corporate governance
- THE INTER-STATE MIGRANT WORKMEN ACT 1979
- Why a law was needed : The employment system of interstate migrant labour is an exploitative system prevalent more or less in all over India. It was rampantly institutionalized in Orissa and in some other states. In Orissa the migrant labour (called dadan labour locally) through contractors or agents (called Sardars / Khatedars) are sent for work outside the state in large construction projects. This system lends itself to various abuses.
- Contractor exploits endlessly : Promises made at the time of recruitment that wages would be calculated on piece rate basis would not be settled every month as promised. Once the worker came under clutches of the contractor he took him to a far off place on payment of railways fare only. No working hours were fixed for interstate migrant workers and they had to work on all the days in a week under extremely bad working conditions.
- The law : The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to regulate the condition of service of inter-state labourers in Indian labour law. The Act's purpose is to protect workers whose services are requisitioned outside their native states in India. Whenever an employer faces shortage of skills among the locally available workers, the act creates provision to employ better skilled workers available outside the state.
- Rights of interstate workers : In addition to the general labour laws applicable to all workers, the interstate workers are entitled with
- equal or better wages for the similar nature & duration of work applicable for the local workmen or stipulated minimum wages under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 whichever is more,
- displacement allowance (Section 14),
- home journey allowance (Section 15) including payment of wages during the period of journey,
- suitable residential accommodation and medical facilities free of charge on mandatory basis.
- Termination of employment after the contract period without any liability.
- Right to lodge compliant with the authorities within three months of any incident, accident, etc.
- Social troubles : More and more interstate workers deployment is bringing social and cultural tensions in the states which are created on linguistic basis. Interstate workers being under the hold of their employers are scared of associating with local workers. Many times interstate workers are reluctant to learn speaking in local majority language and to understand the local customs. The Gujarat exodus 2018 is a pointer of things to come.
- CIVIL SERVICES AND LATERAL ENTRY
- Civils Services’ responsibility : The responsibility of the civil services is to run the administration of India. There are multiple agencies working across Ministries to run the systems of India.
- Roles they play : Civil Services Members are (a) administrators in the central government and state governments, (b) emissaries in the foreign missions/embassies, (c) tax collectors and revenue commissioners, (d) civil service commissioned police officers, (e) permanent representative(s) and employees in the United Nations and its agencies, and (f) Chairman, Managing Director, full-time functional Director/Member of the Board of Management of various Public Sector Undertakings/ Enterprises, Corporations, Banks and financial institutions.
- Various agencies : Civil servants are employed to various agencies of India and can also be appointed as advisors or special duty officers or private secretaries to ministers of the Union and the State Government.
- ACC : All appointments in the rank of Joint Secretary to Government of India and above, other major appointments, empanelment and extension of tenure is done by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
- Top posts and ACC : The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) decides appointments to several top posts under the Government of India. It is composed of the Prime Minister of India (Chairman), and the Minister of Home Affairs (MHA). With effect from July 2016, the minister of concerned ministry has been excluded from the committee.
- EO Division : The Establishment Officer’s Division (EO Division) processes all proposals for senior appointments in the GoI that require approval of the ACC under the "Government of India Transactions of Business Rules, 1961". These include Board level appointments in Public Sector Undertakings and appointments to the posts at the level of Joint Secretary. In addition, all appointments by promotion that require ACC approval are processed through the E.O. Division.
- Join Secretary : A Joint Secretary (JS, GoI) is a post and a rank under the Central Staffing Scheme of the Government of India. The authority for creation of this post solely rests with Cabinet of India. It is an ex-cadre post, that means anyone can occupy it. Usually the civil servants who hold this rank and post are either from All India Services (Deputation; on tenure, after empanelment) or Central Civil Services (Group A; on empanelment). All promotions and appointments to this rank and post are directly made by the ACC.
- Admin Head : A JS is the administrative head of a wing in a department. Joint secretaries in the Union Government is analogous to major general and equivalent ranks in Indian Armed Forces and are listed as such in the Order of Precedence. Joint secretaries rank 26th on Indian Order of Precedence. They hold posts like Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO), Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), emissaries in the foreign missions/embassies (ambassadors and ministers), Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Director General of Civil Aviation of India, Joint Directors of CBI, board members of Staff Selection Commission of India, Commissioner of Taxes and Police, Social Secretary and Press Secretary to President of India, etc.
- Civil Services Board : All appointments in the ranks below Joint Secretary in the federal government are done by the Civil Services Board.
- Code of conduct : Civil servants work on behalf of the elected government and cannot publicly show their disinterest or disapproval for the elected government. They cannot be removed by any state or central government, but can only be retired.
- An old demand : In 2009, Governor of RBI Bimal Jalan called for JS level posts to be opened up to outside competition. Non-IAS civil services have complained to Government of India because of lack of empanelment in the rank/post of joint secretary on numerous occasions. In June 2018, Government of India announced opening up of 10 posts of Joint Secretary (GOI) in several departments through lateral entry.
- Controversy: The whole issue ran into controversy in 2021, when newer vacancies were announced, and no reservation benefits were given.
- CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
- Corporate Governance is the system by which a company is run, directed and controlled. It is used to balance the interests of many stakeholders, viz., its customers, shareholders, management team, vendors, banks, the government and finally the society.
- In any company (or institution), there is a Supervisory Structure, and there is a Management Structure.
- Management Structure -> Runs the Company and Business(CEO, CFO, CTO, COO, CXO)
- Supervisory Structure -> Hire & fire executive management, Legalities (Board of Governors / Form policies on dividends, etc.Board of Directors)
- So for a typical private sector company, we will have
- a Managing Director in the Board of Directors & a Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Often, the MD and the Chairman are the same, hence CMD.
- The CEO runs the actual business – the dirty, ground work!
- At times, even the CEO may be the MD, or CEO may be the CMD also.
- In general, for government corporation or NGOs (Non Profits), we only have a Board of Governors.
- Since the responsibility is of “Public Interest” nature, they report to the government (i.e. ultimately the Parliament).
- What is “Public Interest”? Technically, when taxpayer money is used.
- Otherwise for a purely private company with no public shareholders, it is not. Then only broader social concerns will play in the equation – Environment, for example. That brings the concept of C.S.R.
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