INTRODUCTION TO

LABOUR LAW
BY,
PRATHAP.K
MEANING OF LABOUR
LAW
A Nation may do without its millionaires and without its capitalists,
but a nation can never do without its labour'.
– by Mahtma Gandhi

Labour law, the varied body of law applied to such matters as –

 Employment,
 Remuneration,
 Work Condition,
 Trade Union,
 Industrial Relations.
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Labour laws or labour legislation is the

body of laws, administrative rulings,
precedents which address the relationship
between and among the employers,
employees and labour organisations, often
dealing with the issues of public law.
WHY WE NEED

(1) Improves industrial relation i.e. employee-employer relations

and minimizes industrial disputes.
(2) Protection of workers from exploitation by the employers or
management
(3) Helps workers in getting fair wages
(4) Reduces conflicts and strikes etc.
(5) Ensures job security for workers
(6) Promotes good environment conditions in the industrial system
(7) Fixes rest pauses and work hours etc.
(8) Provides compensation to workers, who are victims of
accidents.
WHAT ARE THE LABOUR
LAWS
 1. Registration of Trade Union Act 1926
 2. Industrial Dispute Act 1947
 3. Payment of Wages Act 1936
 4. Standing Orders Act 1946
 5. Workmen Compensation Act 1923
 6. Employees State Insurance Act 1948
 7. Factories Act 1948
 8. Minimum Wages Act 1948
 9. Provident Fund Act 1952
 10 Maternity Benefit Act 1961
Objectives of Labour Laws

 Fair Wages

 Equal Opportunity

 Protecting Children

 Protecting the Disabled

 Working Hours

 Welfare of the workers

 Good relationship between employer and employee

 To solve industrial dispute

Unit -1

 Master and slave

 ILO
 Trade Unionism in INDIA and UK
 Trade Union Act 1926
Trade Union- meaning , Definitions
Registration
Cancelation
Immunities
dissolution
Amalgamation
Recognition of TU
Collective Bargaining
Unit -II

 Industrial Dispute Act 1947

 Definition- Industry, Industrial Dispute, Workmen
 Industrial Dispute machinery-
Works committee, Conciliation and Board of Conciliation,
Court of Inquiry, Labour court, Labour Tribunal and Grievance
Settlement Authority
Voluntary Arbitration
 Award and Settlement
Unit -III

 Strikes
 Lockout
 Lay off
 Retrenchment
 Closure

 Standing orders Act 1948

 Meaning of standing orders
 Procedure for certification
 Certifying officer- powers and function
Unit -IV

 Employees Compensation Act 1923

Definition- employee, employer, dependent, Disablement etc..
 Employers liability for compensation
 Conditions and exceptions- procedure
 The Employees State Insurance Act 1948
 Definition- Employee, principal employer, contribution,
dependent etc…
 ESI Funds, Contribution, Benefits
 ESI corporation, Standing committee, Medical Benefit
Council
Unit - V

 The payment of Wages Act – 1936

 Definition- Factory, wages, etc..
Deduction, Authorities, Inspectors

The Factories Act -1948

Definition- Factory, Manufacturing process, occupier, etc..
Health measures
Welfare measures
Safety measures
Provisions relating to Hazardous process
Regulation of woman, Children and Young persons
MASTER AND SLAVE
Master and Slave

 Master :
someone having an authority over another person, and a man
who has people working for him, especially servants or
slaves.
 Slave:
a person entirely under the domination of
some influence or person.
someone who is owned by another person and works for
them for no money.
Work condition in Master and
SLAVE
 No salary
 More time
 No break
 No good working condition
 Exploitation
 No leave
 Violence
 No freedom
 Forced labour and child labour
VIOLENCE, EXPLOITATION
NO FIXED WAGES
MORE WORKING HOURS
NO FREEDOM
NO BREAK
Child labour
Forced Labour
International Labour
Organization :(ILO)
 The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United
Nations agency dealing with labour issues, particularly
international labour standards, social protection, and work
opportunities for all.

 ILO became the first specialized agency associated with the

United Nations.
 Paris peace conference of 1919
 Established in 26th October 1919.
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 The ILO was created in 1919, as part of the Treaty of

Versailles that ended World War I, to reflect the belief that
universal and lasting peace can be accomplished only if it is
based on social justice
 ILO is a special organization of the United Nations that
regulates labour relations.
 The ILO has 187 member states: of the 193 UN members
of the ILO.
 Headquarters - Geneva
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 The ILO registers complaints against entities that are

violating international rules; however, it does not impose
sanctions on governments.
 ILO is a special organization of the United Nations that
regulates labour relations.
 In 1969, the organization received the Nobel Peace Prize for
improving peace among classes, pursuing decent work and
justice for workers, and providing technical assistance to
other developing nations.
MAIN OBJECTS OF ILO

 Promote and realize standards and fundamental principles

and rights at work

 Create greater opportunities for women and men to decent

employment and income

 Enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social

protection for all (social justice)
Organisational Structure of (ILO)

 1. International Labour Conference (ILC)

 2. Governing Body
 3. International Labour Office (ILO).
1. International Labour
Conference (ILC)
 This is the Apex body of ILO which makes labour policies
for international labour.
 The ILC holds its sessions at a frequency not less than once
in a year.
 The delegates from three group’s …. the government, the
employers’ and the worker
 Each representative has a vote.
 The representatives from the Government are mostly
ministers, diplomats or officials
The functions performed by
the ILC
1. Formulate international labour standards.
2. Fix the amount of contribution to be paid by the member
states.
3. Study the labour problems submitted by the Director General
and assist in their solutions.
4. Appoint committees to deal with different problems during
its sessions.
5. Elect the president.
6. Select members of the Governing Body
2. Governing Body

 It implements decisions of the ILC with the help of the

International Labour Organisation.

 It consists of 56 members in the same ratio of 2:1:1, i.e. 28

representatives of the Government, 14 of the employers and
14 of the workers.
The functions of the
Governing Body
1. Co-ordinate work between the ILC and ILO.
2. Prepare agenda for each session of the ILC.
3. Appoint the Director General of the office.
4. Scrutinize the budget.
5. Follow up with member states in regard to implementation of
the conventions and recommendations adopted by the ILC.
6. Fix the date, duration, schedule and agenda for the Regional
Conferences
7. Seek as and when required, advisory opinion from the
International Court of Justice with the consent of the ILC.
3. International Labour Office:

 This is the secretariat of the ILO in Geneva and is the third

major organ of the ILO.
 The Director General (DG) of the ILO is the Chief
Executive Officer of the Secretariat appointed by the
Governing Body.
 He also serves as the Secretary General of the ILC.
 His tenure is for 10 years and extendable by the Governing
Body.
Functions

1. Prepare briefs and documents for agenda of ILC.

2. Assist the Governments of the States to form labour
legislation based on recommendations of the ILC.
3. Bring out publications relating to industrial labour problems
of international nature and interest.
4. Carry out functions related to the observance of the
conventions.
5. Collect and distribute information on international labour
and social problems.
ILO CONVENTIONS ON
TRADE UNION
1. Freedom of Association and Protection of the
Right to Organize Convention (No.87) 1948

 At San Francisco
 21 Articles
 V Parts
 Freedom of Association
 Workers and employers shall have the right to establish
organisation
 They can form the rules ( administrative)
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 This Convention provides that workers and employers shall

have the right to establish and join organizations of their
own choosing without previous authorization.
 It also provides protection against act of anti-union
discrimination in respect of their employment.
 Trade Unions Act, 1926
2.Right to organize and collective
bargaining convention (No.98) 1949
 At- Geneva
 Date- 8th june 1949
 16 Articles
It calls upon the member states to create conditions and
institutions for promoting and ensuring the right to organise,
negotiate between employers and workers organizations
with a view to the regulation of terms of employment and
conditions of employment by means of collective
agreement.
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 Workers shall enjoy adequate protection against acts of anti-

Union discrimination in respect of their employment
 Collective Bargaining-
It is a process or method by which problems of wages and
condition of employment are settled amicably, peacefully
and voluntarily between Labour and Management.
HISTORY OF THE TRADE
UNION – INDIA , U.K
HISTORY OF TRADE
UNIONISM IN INDIA
 Trade union, also called labour union, association of
workers in a particular trade, industry, or company created
for the purpose of securing improvements in pay, benefits,
working conditions, or social and political status through
collective bargaining.
NEED TO FORM TU WHY
 Trade union is an outcome of the factory system
 Labour philosopy- “united we stand ,devided we fall”
 Labour management relationship
TRADE UNIONISM IN
INDIA
 HISTORY
 1. PRE -1918
 2. 1918-1924
 3. 1925- 1934
 4. 1935-1938
 5. 1939- 1946
 6.1947-SINCE
1. PRE 1918

 1860- Bengal , Dinabandu mitra, a dramatist and social

reformer of Bengal Protest against the hardship of the
cultivations and also the plantation workers
 1875 – Bombay, Mr. Sarobji shapuri Protest against poor
working conditions of workers of that time-
• First factory commission was appointed 1875
• 1889 – Bombay – workers of spinning and weaving mills
demanded sundays as holiday, regulating in the payment of
wages and adequate compensation in case of accident.
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 1890- Ist labour association “ Bombay Mills Hands

Association”-by Mr. Lokhande
 Labour journal- Dinabandhu
 Several labour associations formed:
Printers union – calcutta- 1905
1905 the workers of the govt.of India press- calcutta lanched
Bombay postal union- 1907
Kamgar Hityardhak sabha -1910
2. 1918- 1924

 FORMATION OF MODREN TU
 Madras Labour Union
 Ahmadabad Textiles Labour Association
 Indian Seamens Association
 Calcutta Clerks Union
Setting up of the ILO- 1919
India was the founder member
1920- All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)
3.1925-1934

 1929- All India Trade Union Federation ( AITUF)

 1926- Trade Union Act

 Registration of TU
 Cancelation of TU
 Funds of TU
 Immunities
 Amalgamation
4. 1935- 1938

 During this period unity was forced in trade uinons

 1935- All India Red Trade Union congress merged with
AITUC
 1938- Bombay Industrial Dispute Act
Compulsory recognition of unions by the employer
Giving the right to workers to get their care presented either
through a representative union/ govt. labour officer.
Setting Industrial court
5. 1939-1946

 Several reason to increased trade union activity-II nd world

war
The rise of prices could not keep pace with increase in wages
There was a split in AITUC
Problem of unemployment
 Defence of India Rules -1942
 Industrial Employment ( standing Orders) Act 1946
6. 1947 and since

 1947- Indian National Trade Union Congress(INTUC)

 1948- Hindh mazdoor Sabha
 1949- United Trade Union Congress( UTUC)
Indusrial Dispute Act 1947:Industry,Workmen,Strike,
Lockout, layoff …..
1954- Bharatiya Mazdoor Sabha
1960- Amendment TU ACT
1982- Amendment TU ACT
Trade Union Recognition Bill 2019
TRADE UNIONISM IN UK

 1. EARLY TRADE UNIONISM

 2. RAPID TRADE UNION GROWTH
 3. NEW UNIONISM
1. Early Trade Unionism

 Skilled workers in Britain began organizing themselves into

trade unions in the 17th century (preceded by guilds -
organization of person with related interest-merchants,
craftsmen in medieval times).
 During the 18th century, the “Industrial Revolution” ( 1760-
1840)
 The process of change from an agrarian and handicraft
economy to one dominated by industry and manufacturing.
 prompted a wave of new trade disputes, the government
introduced measures to prevent collective action on the part
of workers.
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 The Combination Acts, passed in 1799 and 1800, during

made any sort of strike action illegal - and workmen could
receive up to three months' imprisonment or two months'
hard labour if they broke these new laws.
 Despite the Combination Acts, workers continued to press
for better pay and working conditions during the early part
of the 19th century, and trade unions grew rapidly in
London and else where.
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 After violent protests in 1811 and 1812, Parliament repealed

the Combination Acts in 1824 and 1825.
 Trade unions could now no longer be ignored as a political
force, though employers remained reluctant to treat workers'
representatives as their equals.
 During the 1830s labour unrest and trade union activity
reached new levels.
 For the first time men began to organise trade associations
with nationwide aims, such as Robert Owen's short-lived
“Grand National Consolidated Trades Union”, formed in
February 1834.
2.Rapid Trade Union Growth

 In 1850s and 1860s the foundations of a powerful trade

union movement were established and membership rose
from approximately 100,000 in the early 1850s to around a
million by 1874.
 Engineers, miners and agricultural labourers formed new
national or regional trade organizations.
 The Trades Union Congress (TUC), a national forum for co-
ordinating trade union demands, was founded in Manchester
in 1868.
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 The strike by the female workers at the Bryant & May

match factory, in the East End of London, in July 1888
highlighted the expanding boundaries of trade union activity
in Britain.
 20th century trade unions were larger and more influential
than ever before.
 Particularly after the formation of the Independent Labour
Party (ILP) in 1893, the trade union movement developed a
close relationship with the political left.
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 The 1871 Trade Union Act, introduced by William

Gladstone's Liberal government, established the legal status
of trade unions - although other legislation made it difficult
for unions to organize picketing and strikes.
3.New Unionism

 Labour leaders such as Thomas Mann, one of the chief

organisers of the successful London dock strike (1889),
argued that the trade union movement needed to become far
more open and inclusive.
 'New unionism' reached out to the many unskilled workers
in Britain who lacked union representation.
 The first women's 'trade societies' also began to emerge
during this period.
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 Many trade unions subsequently joined the Labour

Representation Committee (LRC), an organisation created
to unite trade unionists and socialists in a single political
movement.
 Between 1900 and 1906, the number of Labour MPs in
Parliament rose from 2 to 29.
 The link established in this period between the Labour Party
and trade unionism still exists today.
CONSTITUION AND
LABOUR LAWS
INTRODUCTION

 The ‘Constitution of India’ is the touchstone for any Act

passed in our country.
 Our constitution plays an important part in the changes and
growth in labour laws in India.
 The Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State
Policy enshrined in Part III and Part IV mentions working
class related benchmark laws.
A. FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHTS (Part III)
 Right to Equality (Art : 14)

 Equality before the law which is interpreted in labor laws

as “Equal pay for Equal work”.
 It does not mean that article 14 is absolute.
 There are a few exceptions in it regarding labor laws such as
physical ability, unskilled and skilled labors shall receive
payment according to their merit.
 Randhir Singh vs Union of India
1.Right to Association 19(1)(c):

 All citizens shall have the right to form associations or

unions;
 It is an Organization or permanent relationship between its
member in matters of common concern.
 Right to form companies, societies, partnership, trade
union and political parties.
Case laws

 V.G RAO Vs State of Madras

The freedom to form association implies also the freedom to form or not to
form, to join or not to join an association or union.

 O.K.A Vs UOI
Right of Association and Armed forces

Delhi police Non- Gazated Karmachari Sangh vs UOI

Right to association and police
2, Right against Exploitation

 Right against Exploitation Article 23:

 Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour.-
(1) Traffic in human beings and begar and other similar
forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention
of this provision shall be an offence punishable in
accordance with law.
 Article 24: Prohibition of employment of children in
factories, etc.- No child below the age of fourteen years
shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or
engaged in any other hazardous employment.
B.DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF
STATE POLICY PART- IV (36-51)

 Article 39: Certain principles of policy to be followed by

the State.-
 The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards
securing-
 (a) that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right
to an adequate means of livelihood;
 (d) that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and
women;
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 (e) that the health and strength of workers, men and

women, and the tender age of children are not abused and
that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter
avocations unsuited to their age or strength;
 (f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to
develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom
and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected
against exploitation and against moral and material
abandonment.
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 Article 41: Right to work, to education and to public

assistance in certain cases.-
 The State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity
and development, make effective provision for securing the
right to work, to education and to public assistance in
cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement,
and in other cases of undeserved want.
 Article 42: Provision for just and humane conditions of
work and maternity relief.-
The State shall make provision for securing just and
humane conditions of work and for maternity relief.
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 Article 43: Living wage, etc., for workers.-

 The State shall endeavour to secure, by suitable legislation
or economic organisation or in any other way, to all
workers, agricultural, industrial or otherwise, work, a living
wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life
and full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural
opportunities and, in particular, the State shall endeavour to
promote cottage industries on an individual or co-operative
basis in rural areas.
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 Article 43-A: Participation of workers in management of

industries.-
 The State shall take steps, by suitable legislation or in any
other way, to secure the participation of workers in the
management of undertakings, establishments or other
organisations engaged in any industry.
THANK YOU