INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2010 [REPEALED] THE INDUSTRIAL
DISPUTES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2010 [Act No. 24 of 2010] [18th August, 2010] An Act further to
amend the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Be
it enacted by Parliament in the Sixty-first Year of the Republic of India as
follows:-- (1) This Act may be called the Industrial Disputes
(Amendment) Act, 2010. (2) It shall come into force on such date as the
Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint. In
the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947(14 of 1947) (hereinafter referred to as the
principal Act), in section 2
Preamble 1 - THE INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES
(AMENDMENT) ACT, 2010PREAMBLE
(i) in clause (a),--
(a) in sub-clause (i), for the words " major port,
the Central Government, and", the words "major port, any company in
which not less than fifty-one per cent. of the paid-up share capital is held by
the Central Government, or any corporation, not being a corporation referred to
in this clause, established by or under any law made by Parliament, or the
Central public sector undertaking, subsidiary companies set up by the principal
undertaking and autonomous bodies owned or controlled by the Central
Government, the Central Government, and" shall be substituted;
(b) for sub-clause (ii), the following sub-clause shall
be substituted, namely:--
"(ii) ??in
relation to any other industrial dispute, including the State public sector
undertaking, subsidiary companies set up by the principal undertaking and
autonomous bodies owned or controlled by the State Government, the State
Government:
Provided
that in case of a dispute between a contractor and the contract labour employed
through the contractor in any industrial establishment where such dispute first
arose, the appropriate Government shall be the Central Government or the State
Government, as the case may be, which has control over such industrial
establishment.";
(ii) in clause (s), in sub-clause (iv), for the words
"one thousand six hundred rupees", the words "ten thousand
rupees" shall be substituted.
Section 3 - Amendment of Section 2A
Section 2A of
the principal Act shall be numbered as sub-section (1) thereof and after
sub-section (1) as so numbered, the following sub-sections shall be inserted,
namely:--
"(2) ?Notwithstanding
anything contained in section 10,
any such workman as is specified in sub-section (1) may, make an application
direct to the Labour Court or Tribunal for adjudication of the dispute referred
to therein after the expiry of forty-five days from the date he has made the
application to the Conciliation Officer of the appropriate Government for
conciliation of the dispute, and in receipt of such application the Labour
Court or Tribunal shall have powers and jurisdiction to adjudicate upon the
dispute, as if it were a dispute referred to it by the appropriate Government
in accordance with the provisions of this Act and all the provisions of this
Act shall apply in relation to such adjudication as they apply in relation to
an industrial dispute referred to it by the appropriate Government.
(3) ??The
application referred to in sub-section (2) shall be made to the Labour Court or
Tribunal before the expiry of three years from the date of discharge,
dismissal, retrenchment or otherwise termination of service as specified in
sub-section (1).".
Section 4 - Amendment of Section 7
In section 7 of the principal Act, in sub-section (3),
after clause (e), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:--
"(f) ??he
is or has been a Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) or Joint
Commissioner of the State Labour Department, having a degree in law and at
least seven years' experience in the labour department including three years of
experience as Conciliation Officer:
Provided
that no such Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner or Joint Labour Commissioner
shall be appointed unless he resigns from the service of the Central Government
or State Government, as the case may be, before being appointed as the
presiding officer; or
(g)?? he is
an officer of Indian Legal Service in Grade III with three years' experience in
the grade.".
Section 5 - Amendment of Section 7A
In section 7A of the principal Act, in sub-section (3),
after clause (aa), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:--
"(b) ?he
is or has been a Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) or Joint
Commissioner of the State Labour Department, having a degree in law and at
least seven years' experience in the labour department including three years of
experience as Conciliation Officer:
Provided
that no such Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner or Joint Labour Commissioner shall
be appointed unless he resigns from the service of the Central Government or
State Government, as the case may be, before being appointed as the presiding
officer; or
(c) ???he is
an officer of Indian Legal Service in Grade III with three years' experience in
the grade.".
Section 6 - Substitution of new Chapter for Chapter IIB
After section 9B of the principal Act, for Chapter IIB, the
following Chapter shall be substituted, namely:--
"CHAPTER IIB
Grievance Redressal
Machinery
9C. Setting up of Grievance Redressal Machinery.--
(1) Every industrial establishment employing twenty or
more workmen shall have one or more Grievance Redressal Committee for the
resolution of disputes arising out of individual grievances.
(2) The Grievance Redressal Committee shall consist of
equal number of members from the employer and the workmen.
(3) The chairperson of the Grievance Redressal
Committee shall be selected from the employer and from among the workmen alternatively
on rotation basis every year.
(4) The total number of members of the Grievance
Redressal Committee shall not exceed more than six:
Provided
that there shall be, as far as practicable, one woman member if the Grievance
Redressal Committee has two members and in case the number of members are more
than two, the number of women members may be increased proportionately.
(5)
Notwithstanding
anything contained in this section, the setting up of Grievance Redressal
Committee shall not affect the right of the workman to raise industrial dispute
on the same matter under the provisions of this Act.
(6)
The
Grievance Redressal Committee may complete its proceedings within thirty days
on receipt of a written application by or on behalf of the aggrieved party.
(7)
The
workman who is aggrieved of the decision of the Grievance Redressal Committee
may prefer an appeal to the employer against the decision of Grievance
Redressal Committee and the employer shall, within one month from the date of
receipt of such appeal, dispose off the same and send a copy of his decision to
the workman concerned.
(8) Nothing contained in this section shall apply to
the workmen for whom there is an established Grievance Redressal Mechanism in
the establishment concerned.".
Section 7 - Amendment of Section 11
In section 11 of the principal Act, after sub-section (8),
the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely:--
"(9) ?Every award made, order issued or settlement
arrived at by or before Labour Court or Tribunal or National Tribunal shall be
executed in accordance with the procedure laid down for execution of orders and
decree of a Civil Court under order 21 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908(5
of 1908).
(10) The Labour Court or Tribunal or National
Tribunal, as the case may be, shall transmit any award, order or settlement to
a Civil Court having jurisdiction and such Civil Court shall execute the award,
order or settlement as if it were a decree passed by it.".
Section 8 - Amendment of Section 38
In section 38 of the principal Act, in sub-section (2),--
(i) clause (ab) shall be omitted;
(ii) for clause (c), the following clause shall be
substituted, namely:--
"(c)
the salaries and allowances and the terms and conditions for appointment of the
presiding officers of the Labour Court, Tribunal and the National Tribunal
including the allowances admissible to members of Courts, Boards and to
assessors and witnesses;".
Statement of Objects and Reasons -
INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2010
STATEMENT OF OBJECTS
AND REASONS
(1) The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 provides the
machinery and procedure for the investigation and settlement of industrial
disputes. The provisions of the Act had been amended from time to time in the
light of experience gained in its actual working, case laws and industrial
relations policy of the Government.
(2) At present the workman, whose services have been
discharged, dismissed, retrenched, or otherwise terminated under section 2A of
the Act, is unable to approach the Labour Court or Tribunal in the absence of a
reference of industrial dispute by the appropriate Government to Labour Court
or Tribunal. This causes delay and untold suffering to the workmen. The
Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act, 1982 provided for an in-house Grievance
Settlement Authority for the settlement of industrial disputes connected with
an individual workman employed in the Industrial establishment, but it does not
permit the workman to approach Labour Court or Tribunal until such dispute has
been decided by the Grievance Settlement Authority. The Labour Courts and
Tribunals have no power under the Act to enforce the awards published by the
appropriate Government.
(3) In view of the above, it is considered necessary to
provide for workman a direct access to Labour Court or Tribunal in case of
disputes arising due to discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination of
service of workman. It is also proposed to establish a Grievance Redressal
Machinery as an in-house mechanism in an Industrial establishment with twenty
or more workmen without affecting the right of workman to raise an industrial
dispute on the same matter under the provisions of the Act.
(4) Accordingly, the Industrial Disputes ( Amendment)
Bill , 2009, inter alia, seeks to provide for-
(i) amendment of the term "appropriate
Government" defined under section 2(a) of the Act to amplify the existing
definition;
(ii) enhancement of wage ceiling of a workman from one
thousand six hundred rupees per month to ten thousand rupees per month under
section 2(s) of the Act;
(iii) direct access for the workman to the Labour Court
or Tribunal in case of disputes arising out of section 2A of the Act;
(iv) expanding the scope of qualifications of Presiding
Officers of Labour Courts or Tribunals under sections 7 and 7A of the Act;
(v) establishment of Grievance Redressal Machinery in
every Industrial establishment employing twenty or more workmen for the
resolution of disputes arising out of individual grievances;
(vi) empowering the Labour Court or Tribunal to execute
the awards, orders or settlements arrived at by Labour Court or Tribunal.
(5) The Bill seeks to achieve the above objectives.