Subject: English Literature and Legal Writing

Semester: II

Submitted By

Name of the Student: Rachit Tiwari

Roll No: 51
Academic Year 2021 – 2022
Programme B.A. LL.B Five - Year Integrated Law Programme

Under the Guidance of

Dr. PAYAL G. MEHTA

Submitted to

Faculty of Law
GLS University
Ahmedabad
 CONTENTS

Sr. No. TOPIC Page No.

1. Contents 02

2. Declaration 03

3. Section I: Introduction 04

4. Section II: Description of Legal Photostory 05

5. Suggestion 07

6. Section : Conclusion 08

References, Review in any newspapers/magazines

7.
or on online sites. source taken

Term Assignment
English Literature and Legal Writing (Semester II)
Faculty of Law, GLS University Page | 2
 Declaration

I Rachit Prem Tiwari declare the work entitled Legal Photo-story of

The Woman & The Labour Laws being submitted to Faculty of Law,
GLS University for the project in the subject of English Literature
and Legal Writing is original and where the text is taken from the
authenticated books, articles or any other web sources appropriate
reference is given.

It is true to the best of my knowledge.

Name: Rachit Tiwari

Roll No: 51

Semester: 2

Date: 24-1-22

Faculty of Law
GLS University
Ahmedabad.

Woman & The Labour Laws

Term Assignment
English Literature and Legal Writing (Semester II)
Faculty of Law, GLS University Page | 3
Introduction

Women in India from antiquity were accorded the most exalted and respectful place in society.
During the post-Vedic period, they were confined within the four walls of the house and their role
remained restricted to the traditional household work for cooking, maintenance of home and rearing
of children. They were not supposed to seek any gainful employment outside the family. This
hindered economic development and reduced their social problems. But due to industrialization and
urbanization, new social norms and values emerged. ( Job opportunities, economic hardship and
favourable cultural and social situations encouraged cultural and social situation encouraged women
to seek employment outside the home.) After the independence of the country the number of women
to come out of their houses for work increased day by day. Although entering of women into work
forced raised their economic and social status, it give rise to many problems and difficulties to them
by way of exploitation, discrimination and dismal working conditions.
The labour laws, in general, pave the way for good conditions of service, which include welfare
benefits such as retrenchment benefits, employees’ provident fund scheme, medical benefits and
compensation etc. The main focus of the government’s policies on women’s labour has been to
remove the handicaps under which they work, strengthen their bargaining capacity, improve their
wages and working conditions, enhance their skills and open up better employment opportunities for
them. The legal provisions that specifically apply to women workers are: a) the abolition of night
work except in some occupations, b) provisions that prohibit work involving lifting heavy weights c)
prohibition of underground work for women in the mines, d) maternity benefits, e) provisions for
crèches, f) equal remuneration for equal work, etc.

Description of Legal Photostory

Term Assignment
English Literature and Legal Writing (Semester II)
Faculty of Law, GLS University Page | 4
As we can see from the picture (which shows a couple of women carrying loads of construction
material on their heads to the construction site) women form an integral part of the Indian workforce.
According to the information provided by the office of Registrar General & Census Commissioner of
India, As per Census 2011, the total number of female workers in India is 149.8 million and female
workers in rural and urban areas are 121.8 and 28.0 million respectively. Out of the total of 149.8
million female workers, 35.9 million females are working as cultivators and another 61.5 million are
agricultural labourers. Of the remaining female workers, 8.5 million are in the household Industry and
43.7 million are classified as other workers.
As per Census 2011, the work participation rate for women is 25.51 per cent as compared to 25.63 per
cent in 2001. The Work Participation Rate of Women has reduced marginally in 2011 but there is an
improvement from 22.27 per cent in 1991 and 19.67 per cent in 1981. The work participation rate for
women in rural areas is 30.02 per cent as compared to 15.44 per cent in urban areas.
In so far as the organised sector is concerned, in March 2011 women workers constituted 20.5 per
cent of total employment in the organised sector in the country which is higher by 0.1 per cent as
compared to the preceding year. As per the last Employment Review by Directorate General of
Employment & Training (DGE&T), on 31st March 2011, about 59.54 lakh women workers were
employed in the organised sector (Public and Private Sector). Of this, nearly 32.14 lakh women were
employed in the community, social and personal service sector.
The act which is applicable here is, The Factories Act, 1948
The Factories Act is the principal legislation for regulating various aspects relating to the safety,
health and welfare of workers employed in factories. This is a central Act, which aims at protecting
the workers employed in factories from industrial and occupational hazards. The Act lays down
specific provisions for women workers. To ensure the safety of women, the occupiers of the factories
are prohibited to employ women for cleaning, lubricating or adjusting any part of a prime mover or
any transmission machinery when it is in motion. Other provisions for women include non-
employment of women in any part of the factory for pressing cotton in which a cotton opener is at
work. The state government under Section 34(2) of the Act is authorised to make rules prescribing the
maximum weight, which may be carried by women employed in the factory (Raizada 1996). The Act
has provisions for crèches in every factory in which more than thirty women workers are ordinarily
employed.
Also Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948
This Act provides for certain benefits to employees in case of sickness, maternity and injury
caused at the workplace. The Act applies to all factories (including government factories but
excluding seasonal factories) employing ten or more persons and carrying on a manufacturing
process with the aid of power or employing 20 or more persons and carrying on a
manufacturing process without the aid of power, and such other establishments as the
government may specify.

Term Assignment
English Literature and Legal Writing (Semester II)
Faculty of Law, GLS University Page | 5
The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 The Act is landmark legislation for women workers. It provides
for equal remuneration for the same work or to work of a similar nature to both men and women. It
seeks to prevent discrimination on grounds of sex in terms of payment for the work done. The same
work or work of a similar nature under the Act means the work performed under similar working
conditions by men and women, for doing which the skill, effort and responsibility required are the
same. The Act makes provision for the appointment of the Adjudicating Authority whenever a dispute
arises between the management and the employees as well as an appellate authority empowered to
hear an appeal against the decision of the adjudicating authority

Despite the benefits of these acts, women get but there are some major challenges too.

There are mainly 2 sectors of works, one is formal sector and the other is the informal sector.
Mainly women didn’t get a permanent job as woman labourers, their work is mainly on a contract
basis. Hence they do not get the benefits
like in the Factories Act, 1948, which covers working conditions, health and safety, basic amenities
like toilets, working hours, prohibition of child labour and night work for women, workplace crèches,
and much more, does not apply to informal workers. Similarly, the Employees’ State Insurance Act,
1948, providing for accident compensation and sickness and maternity benefits, does not apply to
workplaces with less than twenty workers without power.
Here, the contractors employ a large number of women (cheap labour as wage discrimination) for a
contractual basis but do not show them on the payrolls of the company.
A study was done by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and National Commission on
Labour has dismissed the connection between lower participation levels, retrenchment of women and
execution of protective laws. Similarly, the argument that the ban on night work has adversely have
affected women’s employment has also been rejected. It has been observed that the effect of the ban
can only be true of a few industries that have adopted a multiple shift system. The National
Commission on Labour has been of the view that the ban on hazardous work, particularly the lifting
of weights has, however, has affected the employment of women in the jute industry only to a certain
extent. The theory that the provision of maternity benefits has proved to be a deterrent to women’s
employment also could not be substantiated as the total expenditure on maternity benefits under the
Maternity Benefits Act is found to be less than 1% of the total expenditure. As with other provisions
like crèches and sanitary facilities, the expenditure involved is negligible and this could not explain
the declining trend of women’s employment.
The chronic insecurity of informal workers allows employers to impose extremely hazardous working
conditions on them. The construction industry is the second-largest employer in the country,
employing more than thirty-two million informal workers. The working conditions in this sector are
deplorable. Whether it is a government or private undertaking, the employers are oblivious to the
hazards involved.

Term Assignment
English Literature and Legal Writing (Semester II)
Faculty of Law, GLS University Page | 6
Suggestion

In my view of the situation which women are facing right now, it can be suggested that
 The government authorities should monitor the sites where labourers are working regularly
 Also, it should be made mandatory that all vehicles carrying women, which engages in night
shifts, the company should install a Global positioning system.
 There is a need to educate women through mass media, seminars, conferences, adult
education programmes and trade unions. Labour Department and Law Faculties can play an
important role by publishing their rights through handbooks, newspapers and legal
awareness.
 Steps should be taken by the government to ensure that no exploitation of labour takes place.
 The Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), Social Action Groups and other Civil Society
Organisations (CSOs) could play a pertinent role in strengthening labour welfare policies for
women. They could run traditional and mobile crèches as well as schools for children of
female migrant workers. They could design simple and cheap but quality tents for migrant
workers, build hostels for female migrant workers to prevent them from living in shanties,
run mobile canteens, organise health camps at work sites, etc. These organisations could
undertake programmes to generate awareness, impart literacy on legal rights and
compensation rules, organise publicity campaigns, and interact with the media, research
institutes and political parties on enforcement of labour Acts.
 Amending by adding or deleting certain sections in the existing labour laws can make them
more applicable and protective to women’s labour. For example the Inter-state Migrant
Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 may be amended
to bring in the contractors and migrant labour directly under the principal employer and
enable the workers and third parties to file their complaints directly.
 Concerning the Maternity Benefit Act, the Shramshakti Report 1988 has emphasised that the
costs of maternity benefits should be met through a tax on the whole industry irrespective of
whether or not, they employ women. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 should be extended to
all industries and the provision of maternity relief should be ensured by the creation of a
Central Fund by levying contributions from employers. The Act should cover agricultural
labourers also. An anti-retrenchment clause should be included in the Act. The Employees’
State Insurance Scheme should be extended to all sectors.
 It is suggested that the workers are advised to follow the small size family plan.

Conclusion
Term Assignment
English Literature and Legal Writing (Semester II)
Faculty of Law, GLS University Page | 7
The labour situation in India is marked by the prevalence of widespread illiteracy, lack of training in
basic skills, ineffective enforcement of labour laws, no implementation of industrial policies,
inadequate appraisal of job performances, and persistence of traditional attitudes. These are the
various reasons that perpetuate the vicious circle of underdevelopment, low productivity, and poor
conditions of health and welfare, which have serious consequences for society in general, and women
in particular. Many factors have been identified as affecting women’s employment such as
segmentation in the labour market, adverse consequences of technological growth, lack of bargaining
powers in women workers and conceptual vagueness at the policy level. Many problems have arisen
in the wake of the use of new technologies and processes to organise labour. The backdrop of
globalization is redefining labour standards and labour relations. Women have to be provided with
more opportunities for economic participation, training and skill inculcation. This is essential to cope
with the consequences of what has come to be described as the “Feminization and Flexibilization” of
labour.
It is generally believed that if the implementation of policy is bad, then the problem lies with policy
formulation. Some believe that the policy is always good and it is the implementation or enforcement
of a policy that adversely affects the good intentions of policymakers. Whatever may be the reason, if
a policy fails to achieve its goals, then the lacunae have to be explored at all the levels of policy cycle
formulation, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and review. The discussion in this unit has
revolved around the moot issue of the fruits of insightful legislation not producing the desired
outcome. The unit has highlighted the situation of labour in the country, the nature of developments in
the area of women and labour. It discusses the legal safeguards for female labour protection. A range
of issues and challenges in providing legislative protection to women’s labour is discussed.

References

Term Assignment
English Literature and Legal Writing (Semester II)
Faculty of Law, GLS University Page | 8
  https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/5js30tvj21hh-en.pdf?
expires=1643015325&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=40AB4A081E029B423AEAD880
83ECAE07
 https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/why-india-is-no-country-for-working-women-
explainspeaking-7249928/
 https://vikaspedia.in/social-welfare/women-and-child-development/women-development-1/
legal-awareness-for-women/laws-relating-to-working-women#:~:text=Factories%20Act
%20has%20been%20proposed,protection%20to%20the%20women%20workers.
 https://labour.gov.in/womenlabour/about-women-labour
 https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/explaining-the-decline-in-women-s-role-in-
workforce-101639333923098.html
 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/no-place-for-women-what-
drives-indias-ever-declining-female-labour-force/articleshow/83480203.cms
 https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/25919/1/Unit-16.pdf
 .

Term Assignment
English Literature and Legal Writing (Semester II)
Faculty of Law, GLS University Page | 9