Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Mar 13, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Mar 13, 2003 |
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Industry & Economy
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Labour Reforms Labour laws to be amended for creating more jobs Vinson Kurian
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, March 12 THE State Government is seeking to revamp, simplify and unify its disparate labour enactments and create a labour regime that will enable creation of new job opportunities by stimulating more investment decisions in favour of the State. The First Law Reforms Committee appointed by the State Government has recommended a series of measures, including amendments to legislations such as the Kerala Industrial Establishment (National and Festival Holidays) Act, 1958, the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1960, and the Kerala Casual, Temporary and Badli Workers (Wages) Act, 1989, for this purpose. Most of the labour laws and procedures in the State, the Commission noted, are focused on the organised sector, which constitutes less than 10 per cent of the labour force. There has not been any appreciable growth in the size of the organised sector for a long time while the ranks of the unemployed has swelled. Most of the labour enactments in the State have been found to be out of tune with the requirements of the day. The nature of work and its profile have also changed substantially in the recent past. Provisions in the laws and rules which have only complicated the administrative work and added to transactions costs, thus acting as disincentives to the establishment of small enterprises, would have to be amended and simplified, the Committee noted. As per the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994, and the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1960, licence is given for a period of one year for setting up and running an establishment, which needs to be renewed year to year. For administrative convenience, it is now proposed that such licenses can be issued for three years or for a shorter period as the applicant proposes. In addition, amendments have been recommended for some of the legislations. For instance, the Kerala Industrial Establishment (National and Festival Holidays) Act, 1958, would be suitably amended to enable the employer and workers decide on the festival holidays by themselves and only a send a list thereof to the Inspector of the area for information. Only in the cases of specific written complaints from either party would the Inspector need to involve himself, if at all. There is a provision enabling the employer to require the employee to work on a holiday. However, in cases where an employee works on any holiday, he shall be entitled to twice the normal wages and avail himself of a substituted holiday with wages. The Committee further recommended that the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1960, be amended in order that an apprentice who has completed more than two years need be considered as an employee for the purpose of paying wages. The one-month notice for dispensing the services would now be required in the case of employees who have been continuously employed for a period of not less than one year. In the interests of increasing women's employment in all sectors, it has been recommended that prohibition on engaging women workers during night shifts need not be insisted upon in those categories to be notified by the Government. The Committee has also recommended that SSI units be exempted from the purview of the Kerala Casual, Temporary and Badli Workers (Wages) Act, 1989.
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