THE EFFECT AND IMPACT OF COVID 19 ON LABOUR LAWS

The deadly outbreak of the Corona Virus has left the whole world gasping for breath. In total
about 323K people have lost their lives to this Pandemic and the number has ever been
increasing. The virus has made a huge impact on the world economy and the Indian economy
badly. India has already seen 3 major phases of Lock-down which has been for about 40
days. The Indian Economy has crippled as because of this all industries, factories and
workplaces have remain shut. The Labour class of India that depends on daily wage has seen
a dark period as they have been away from home and have not been earning their wages. In
wake of this, the Central Government and different State Governments have brought in
Ordinances and Amendments to the prevailing Labour Laws.

Firstly, it is imperative to understand what consists of Labour Laws. The different Types of
Labour Laws and the Acts governing them are as follows:
CONDITIONS OF WORK
 Factories Act,1948
 The Contract Labour Act,1970
 Shops and Commercial Establishment Act
WAGES AND REMUNERATION
 The Minimum Wages Act,1948
 Payment of Wages Act,1936
SOCIAL SECURITY
 Employees Provident Fund Act,1952
 Workmen’s Compensation Act,1923
 Employees State Insurance Act,1948
EMPLOYMENT SECURITY AND INDUSTRAIL RELATIONS
 The Industrial Disputes Act,1947
 Industrial Establishments (Standing Orders) Act,1946
So, these are the major Acts that govern the Labour Laws in India. Many states like Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have brought about major changes in the
existing laws keeping in view the losses that all the factories and industrial establishments
have seen in the current traumatic times.

The COVID -19 has affected all the sectors of the Economy hugely and that has resulted into
loss of job for the Employees and loss of profit for the Employer. These Amendments and
Ordinances have been brought in by the State because the Lockdown has slowed down
Businesses and Economic activities due to which labour welfare has been negatively affected.
To bring economic activity back on track, new investment opportunities would need to be
created along with fastening the Business processes and productivity.
In a major step, the ESIC that is a social security organisation providing comprehensive
social security benefits such as health care and cash benefits during employment injury,
sickness or death has under Regulation 26 and 31 increased the time limit for contribution
(which as of today stands at 1.75% for the Employees and 4.75% for the Employers) to the
fund for the month of February has been extended to May 15 and for the month of March has
been extended to May 15, giving a 3 months and 2 months window respectively.
Under the Exemption under Factories Act, 1948, the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal
Pradesh have increased the working hours from 8 hours to 12 hours and the wages as always
will be payable as per the hours. So, if the Labourer earlier used to earn Rs.80/hr then he/she
would earn Rs.120/hr. Every state has put out its own different measures for extra working
hours and in between working hours break and the wages to be paid for the same. The total
working hours of a week are also prescribed by each state differently.
Interestingly, the state of Goa has exempted all adult workers working in all of the Factories,
who are not holding positions of Supervision or Management and/or are not employed in a
“confidential position”.
In the state of Uttarakhand the working hours cannot exceed 11 hours.
The State of U.P. has summarily suspended all Labour Laws including the Minimum Wages
Act, which could result into heavy exploitation of the Labourers and on the other hand it
would even by useful to the Employers as investments would also increase and their
businesses could be brought back on track. Theoretically speaking, this model can do
wonders for the economy of the state but its practical application seems to be difficult.
According to a recent report of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), India has about
40 crore people working in the Informal Sector and they could be pushed down more into
poverty because of the COVID-19 crisis.
In the historic judgement of Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) V. Union of India,
it has been held that every worker has the right to minimum wages and this right was
introduced for them because of the exploitation that they had to face by the Employers. The
daily wage workers need to earn their wage daily and they were left with no choice in the end
but to work at whatever meagre wage they received. For this very same reason, the right to
Minimum wages was introduced. If the state governments get away with the Labour Laws
then the Labourers could face the same conditions as before. The Government has passed an
Order to direct the Factories and Industrial establishments to not to cut the wages of the
Labourers in these difficult times and not to fire them.

CONCLUSION
In the end, we must hope that the Supply chain in the Economy is revived and the Labourers
get their benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY). Major changes
have been brought about in the Labour Laws of many states and hopefully these changes
prove wrong the criticism that they have already been facing, for the benefit of the Labour
class.
As quoted by Mahatma Gandhi, “Each and every one of you should consider himself to be a
trustee for the welfare of the rest of his fellow labourers and not be self seeking”.