LABOUR LAW – II

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

Submitted To: Mr. Pranay Prakash

 ABSTRACT

Labour laws in India have evolved over time in response to social, economic, and political
changes. Labour laws in India can be traced back to the colonial era when the British introduced
laws to regulate the conditions of work and employment in factories and mines. The laws, such
as factories act ,1948 had various provision relating to working conditions, health, safety,
welfare, and employment of workers in factories in India. When it comes to enforcement, these
clauses are a massive disappointment. Due to the legal penalties, the regulations are followed
and the aforementioned facilities are offered, but they are either inaccessible to the employees
or have become useless as a result of excessive use.
Naroda GIDC (Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation) of Ahmedabad. In Naroda GIDC
Estate, there are about 31 different categories of classified industries, including agrochemicals,
chemicals, textiles, electronics, chemicals, dyes, and dye-intermediates. Some of these
businesses are open every day of the week and on continuous basis. This demonstrates the
workers' active participation, which raises the risk of their exploitation and a breach of the laws
requiring their welfare.
We spoke with and polled a sample of more than 50 workers from three distinct industrial
settings about the aforementioned subjects. Fifty of the interacting workers total received
questionnaires with 15 questions each. The majority of the sample was made up of people who
worked in the organised sector and were paid either daily or monthly wages. Unskilled to
skilled labour, including semi-skilled labour, as well as workers managing technicians and
labourers, as well as employees managing industrial outlets are among the several kinds of
workers.
The survey's results demonstrate that there is, in reality, a lack of compliance with the legal
requirements, which are required in nature and must be fulfilled in every outlet without
exception. This was conducted on 23 March, 2023.
A recommended solution is to first try to develop local non unions before creating inter-
organizational unions. Worker unions at the inter-organizational level will further bolster the
employees' collective voice within their individual organizations and serve as a fix-all for all the
issues raised above and further addressed.
 INTRODUCTION

Every nation has laws in place to safeguard workers' interests and rights. The Code on Wages,
2019, the Code on Social Security, 2020, the Factories Act, and several more state laws are just
a few of the laws in India that regulate labour, ensuring that it operates as it should. Labour
laws govern the relationships between an employer or group of employers and their employees.
The increasing exploitation of workers by employers in factories and other workplaces
prompted the need for these laws, which were created to protect those interests. However, that
the laws are overly complex and difficult to navigate, particularly for small businesses.
Compliance with labour laws can be costly and time-consuming, which can discourage
employers from hiring workers or investing in their businesses. Additionally, there is a
perception that labour laws are biased in favour of workers, which can lead to disputes and
strikes.
Sadly, because they are ignorant of the benefits of the laws protecting them, employees are still
being overly exploited. Employers are currently abusing workers' lack of knowledge of their
rights increasingly frequently. For the sake of economic modelling, laws were often assumed to
be self-executing, and questions concerning the inadequacy and improper application of legal
concepts were not looked into. Owing to this, despite the availability of a significant body of
work utilising statistical methodologies that were getting increasingly complex, the concerns of
legal scholars and policy makers were only infrequently addressed.
The Factories Act, 1948 is a comprehensive piece of legislation that regulates the working
conditions in factories in India. The Act was enacted to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of
workers employed in factories, and to regulate the working hours, leave entitlements, and other
conditions of employment. Such actions are ineffective when put into practice. Due to the legal
repercussions, the rules are obeyed, and the aforementioned facilities are provided; nonetheless,
the employees cannot use them, or they are no longer functional due to overuse.

The study of labour laws and how they affect employees, employers, and the labour market via
the use of empirical data and methodologies is known as empirical research on labour law. The
majority of workers, according to the survey, either labour for the sake of employment or are
forced to do so in a workplace under certain conditions. Although their rights are guaranteed,
many workers are used to working under a range of situations without complaining. Employers'
influence over employees may occasionally be quite significant when it comes to the
workplace. In certain instances, employers deceive workers so they are unaware they are
infringing on their rights as protected by labour laws.
 HISTORY OF THE STUDY: GIDC AND
OTHER
INDUSTRIES IN
GUJARAT, INDIA

The results of a successful survey were gathered from a large number of factory or industry
personnel. In order to hasten the industrialization of the Indian state of Gujarat, the Gujarat
Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) was founded in accordance with the Gujarat
Industrial Development Act of 1962. The primary function of the GIDC is to locate areas that
are appropriate for industrial development and to establish industrial estates with infrastructure,
including streets, roads, drainage, power, water supply, and factory sheds that are ready for use.
There are estates in Gandhinagar dedicated to electronics, estates in Bhavnagar to ceramics and
manufacturing, and estates in Vapi, Ankles war, Panoli, Nandesari, and Naroda dedicated to
chemicals.
The main industrial areas of Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India, where various
industrial working conditions and labour circumstances were assessed, were also explored.

SAMPLE SURVEY

A sample of more than 50 workers from three distinct industrial settings were interviewed
and surveyed on the aforementioned topics. Fifty of the interacting workers total received
questionnaires with 15 questions each. The majority of the sample was made up of people
who worked in the organized sector and were paid either daily or monthly wages. Unskilled
to skilled labour, including semi-skilled labour, as well as workers managing technicians and
laborers, as well as employees managing industrial outlets are among the several kinds of
workers. Because the respondents only learned when the questions should be completed, the
survey was often performed in the late afternoon or evening. The overwhelming majority of
respondents were extremely reserved and shy, hesitant to discuss their disease in front of
others or in public. Also, it was noted that many respondents, particularly those who
answered inquiries regarding the authorities, either stopped answering altogether or provided
erroneous information. The survey was carried out in various manufacturing and weaving
industries in Naroda Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India such as Jay Ambe Industries, 5R Value
Creations (Reliance Retail Ltd.), Bhavani Industries, and so on.
 SAMPLE SIZE- 50

The main motive of the survey was to identify whether the provisions related to health and
safety of workers are actually followed by industries. The workers who were questioned
during this survey were mainly involved in domains like machine operation, loading goods,
fabrications, technicians, and food processing industries. Some of these workers were
migrants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Rajasthan and they also belonged to
communal minorities. However, most of the internal workers belonged to Gandhinagar and
nearby villages. It is also important to note that, some of them, also come into the area to
work seasonally, that is, lack of work in their hometowns or in the time of festivals when
there is a chance of earning more in the cities.

FIG. 1
IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL
HYGIENE AT WORKPLACE
6%
4%

90%

Yes No Maybe

YES- 45 NO- 2 MAYBE- 3

In Fig. 1, shows that majority of the workers are aware of maintaining personal hygiene at
workplace. Maintaining hygiene at workplace is very important for oneself and for welfare of
other workers. It allows people to believe and entrust responsibilities to you, which could
involve planning a safe and hygienic event for everyone. Those who maintain healthy
lifestyle and surroundings lead a healthy life and due to this less absenteeism is seen among
those workers. Taking small steps can lead to increased productivity and greater efficiency. In
one of the food processing industries, it was seen that the workers were made to follow a
regular handwash and sanitization routine.
 FIG. 2
SEPARATE TOILETS FOR MALES AND
FEMALES
8%

16%

76%

Yes Same for Males and Females No toilets available

YES- 38 SAME FOR BOTH-8 NOT AVAILABLE-4

In Fig. 2, in the given Sample, the workers were questioned regarding the basic facility of
Washrooms for which the majority positively replied regarding the availability of separate
Washrooms for Male and Female Workers. This being said, it was found out that it was due
to the fact that a Large-Scale Industry from which the majority workers said they had
facilities of washroom for both Male and Female workers because the factory of such large
scale wanted to prioritize efficiency and order. Their reasoning suggests that a Common
Washroom would rather create a ruckus and disturbance which would indirectly affect the
Factory’s production and efficiency. In another set of responses by Workers of another
Medium-Sized Factory and Small-Scale Factories, it was shown that either the washrooms
were available separately for male and female workers or that only a common washroom
was provided.
 FIG. 3
ADEQUATE HANDWASH FACILITIES
50 46
45
40
35
30
25 Yes
20 No
15
10
4
5
0
YES NO

YES- 46 NO- 4

In Fig. 3, the data collected by conducting the survey shows that majority of the workers
(92%) who were questioned found the Washroom Facilities fully equipped with the necessary
Toiletries and that they found no complaints regarding the Sanitation of such facilities while
only a small number of workers (8%) found out a lack of such toiletries and required
cleanliness in the washroom facilities. However, this is due to the fact that most of these
answers were derived from workers who were working in a Large-Scale Factory compared to
the workers who were in the Small-Scale Industry. This suggests that the Large-Scale
Factories considers it important to provide the facilities of clean toilets with amenities like
Soap, Handwash, Detergents for cleaning for maintaining sanitation to follow the provisions
given under the relevant labor laws, i.e., the Factories Act, 1948, however, it does not reflect
the fact that the Factory was actually concerned for the general interest of labors and rather
provided such facilities for the sake of Profit Maximization and Efficiency which would have
been adversely impacted if not provided given the size of the Industry. The responses which
claimed no such availability came from workers who were in Small Scale Factory, due to the
understanding by such workers that such small-scale places are on the path of growth, which
entails that they focus more on profit maximization and consider such provisions to be
unnecessary due to the advantage that such small-scale factories hardly attract the attention
by the authorities for inspection.
 35 FIG. 4
BATHING AND CHANGING FACILITIES
30
IN HAZARDOUS INDUSTRIES
25
20
15
10
5
0
YES NO

Fig.4 indicates the facilities provided to the workers for bathing and changing in the
hazardous industries especially. As shown in the graph above, a significant part of workers
still do not have access to these facilities, despite the fact that a big number of workers are
given these amenities. In industries where the work is dangerous in nature, it is crucial to
provide the employees with access to changing and lavatory facilities. Such facilities are not
typically offered to employees by an industry, but they become crucial when worker safety
takes precedence over output. The labor law itself provides for the washing accommodations,
personal storage and changing rooms. Only a small number of industries comply with labor
law requirements and offer workers basic amenities like restrooms, changing rooms and
other things. The labor
laws’ provisions have been followed by large-scale industries, but they have had less of an
impact on small-scale industries or none at all the study suggests.
 FIG. 5
AVAILABILITY OF FIRST-AID
KITS/MEDICAL AID IN WORKPLACE
8%
4%

88%

Yes No Don’t know

YES- 44 NO-2 DON’T KNOW- 4

Fig.5 indicates the resources made available to the workers in case of a medical emergency.
The survey that was done for the study was used to create the graph up top, which
demonstrates that the employees receive appropriate medical care and support. Nonetheless,
employees in the job receive equal to minimal treatment, i.e., only minimally grievous
medical help is accepted. Very few sectors have the means to respond to circumstances of
serious medical emergency. A few studies have also demonstrated that in cases of such
medical emergencies, medical assistance is insufficient or less effective in handling the
problem. Despite the fact that medical assistance is offered in many sectors, it occasionally
proved insufficient to resolve the issue. The survey study also revealed that some employees
receive financial assistance from their industries/factories for hospital-based medical care.
 FIG. 6
PROVISION OF PERIOD LEAVES

20%

50%

30%

Yes No Don’t know

Yes- 10 No- 15 Don’t know- 25

Fig. 6indicates that majority (50%) of the female workers do not even know about the
concept of period leaves. Period leaves refers to policies that allow for both paid or unpaid
leave,
or time for rest for menstruating women. Some of the large-scale industries like Reliance
provide their female employees with period leaves while the other small-scale industries do
not have this provision, they require women to use their sick or personal leave. While many
of the women are not comfortable asking for period leave.
 FIG. 7
HYGIENE AND SANITATION TRAINING
0%
16%

84%

Yes No Don’t know

YES- 8 NO- 42 DON’T KNOW- 0

Fig7.In the above-mentioned figure the chart indicates the Hygiene and Sanitation training
given to the workers or labors working in the industry or the factory. During the survey we
got to know that many small-scale industries does not train their workers about how to
maintain hygiene at the workplace. The main reason for this can be the cost which will go in
the training of the worker and to cut the cost industries don’t train their workers. Rest of the
16% were given the training about how to maintain the hygiene and sanitization at the work
place.
 FIG. 8
IS PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT
35 PROVIDED?

30

25

20

15

10

0
Yes No Don’t know

YES- 30 NO- 16 DON’T KNOW-4

Fig.8 talks about whether the personal protection equipment are provided to the workers or
not, as the figure says majority of the workers said yes to this question, they were given the
protection equipment like gloves, helmet, hair cap, mask, etc. out of the 50 workers who were
questioned 16 of them denied ,they didn’t get any type of safety equipment from the employer
and the rest were not aware about the facility that need to be given to the workers from the
employer. In some of the industries employers are not concerned about the safety of their
employees hence they have not provided them with some of the basic safety equipment which
endangers the life of the worker. It was observed that in the large-scale industries like
Reliance, special attention was given to the safety of the employees where they were given
masks, haircaps and gloves to prevent any time of contamination in their food processing
centers. Whereas, in the small-scale industries no such importance was given by the
employers.
 FIG. 9
SATISFACTION LEVEL OF CLEANLINESS

SATISFACTORY UPTO CERTAIN EXTENT

NOT SATISFACTORY

SATISFACTORY

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Satisfactory- 30 Not satisfactory- 13 up to certain extent- 7

Fig.9 shows that whether the workers are satisfied with the cleanliness at the workplace. The
replies of the workers are showed above in the figure, 60% of the workers were satisfied
with the cleanliness at their work place. The main reason behind this huge number is that
daily cleaning of the workplace takes place for which the health and safety supervisor is
responsible. There were some workers which were not satisfied with the cleanliness at the
workplace. Rest of the workers were satisfied up to a certain extent only which was
maintained in their respective industries.
 FIG. 10
AVAILABILITY OF AIR FILTRATION
SYSTEM

NO

YES

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

YES – 38 NO- 12
Fig. 10 indicates that most of the industries have air filtration systems installed to improve
the indoor air quality. Large scale industries have large air filtration systems installed which
are checked every week whereas small- scale industries have large exhaust fans installed in
order to improve the air quality indoors. Ventilation systems and air filtration systems are
necessary to capture common pollutants, thus helping to ensure product integrity and safety
in manufacturing environments. Filtration systems are also essential to protect process
equipment and maximize uptime and performance. They are also very important to protect
the workers from respiratory diseases.
 Expectations from respondents-

5R Value creations (reliance)- The respondents basically did not demand anything specific
per se from the employer. They were satisfied from all the happenings in the company and
also with the pay and bonus. The sanitation and health of the employees were taken good
care of as according to the factories act 1948, in case of women employees they were not at
all hesitant from answering questions related to any question asked like maternity leaves,
pay, bonus, work during mensuration period etc.

Expected- Our minds were clear prior conducting the survey that reliance will be following
all the provisions of safety and sanitation in accordance with the factories act 1948 and such
thought was true. Reliance met with all the safety standards se by the act. we as researches
were also asked to wear a hat and face mask. All the workers were also asked to wear masks
and hats while working. The workers did not complaint of anything specific about the safety
protocols.

Jay Ambe industries- this was local private factory dealing with making products from steal.
The respondents on being asked about the safety measures and sanitization were clear that
they did not face any major issues regarding that but did face some issues regarding pay and
bonus.

Expected- while conducting the survey we thought that about questioning the female
workers in a more detailed way but that didn’t happen as there were no female workers
employed also, we thought that the workers might be facing major issues regarding
sanitation but there were none. There were no toilets for females as there were no female
workers working and the one problem, we observed that the distance between the eating
space and the toilets were close which made it unhygienic.

Bhavani industries- it was a domestic chemical industry; the manger did not allow us to take
the survey in the premises of the industry rather he was ready to give all the information about
the workers by himself which would have hampered the main aim of the survey.
 Remedy-

As the problem was in the private domestic company, remedy that is available is by making
the employees aware about the provisions of factories act in their regional language and
letting them know about the minimum wage criteria set by the appropriate government.
Worker unions might be a option for the employees to get their problems resolved.

Conclusion-
The research was conducted to know the ground level problems that the workers usually face
during the working hours of the work in relation to health and sanitization. However, it was
found that companies working at the international level did follow all the provisions of the
labor code but the locally operating factories did compromise on some of the aspects of the
code. The external help we received while conducting the survey: -

Reliance retail
daily house
keeping
checklist

 The employer at reliance was very helpful and treated us well throughout the survey.
He provided us with the hard copies of various things one of which is the daily housekeeping
list that contained details about the health and safety measures taken on daily basis.

 The manger also provided us

with the hard copies of
certificate of fitness of
employment in hazardous process and operation of one of his employees so that we can
get a clear image about what all things a large company needs to maintain.

 A proper medical report

containing the name, department,
joining date, laboratory tests,
urine tests, blood tests, covid
negative report, temperature etc.
was also provided to proof that all
the measures of the labor code are
being taken care of.
  The manger also provided us with his visiting card and told us contact him in case of
any further surveys and also agreed to pose for a picture with us.

The hospitality received was amazing at reliance but it lacked while we were at the smaller
industry, the employer there was a little doubtful about what information should be given and
what not. The workers were also a little hesitant while answering the questions asked as the
employer had eyes on them, although some do complain about the mis-happenings.
The study found that the main problem was communication of the problems faced in the small
industry while the large industry had a proper framework to deal with the problems arising out
in cases of health and sanitation.