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Brief Anlysis On Industrial Relations Code, 2020 Introduced Recently In Light Of The International Labor Organization Conventions. (By- Aditi Shreenivas Prabhune)
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Brief Anlysis On Industrial Relations Code, 2020 Introduced
Recently In Light Of The International Labor Organization Conventions.
Authored By- Aditi Shreenivas Prabhune
Class: Third Year LL. B
Class: Third Year LL. B
College:
Symbiosis Law School, Pune
Introduction:
In India, labour is considered under the Concurrent
list were both State and Centre has power to enact laws on the said subject,
thus previously it could be observed that there are more than 40 central labour
laws and more than 100 state labour and related laws, therefore it was a need
to integrate them in the related matters , in the Second National
Commission on Labour (2002) suggested
that the labour laws needs to be integrated under the heads of- Wages, Safety,
Social Security, Industrial relations, and Welfare and working conditions[1].
Therefore, in 2019 in order to integrate 29 central legislations, the Central
Government submitted four bills on labour codes[2].
These are the following:
-
Code on Wages;
-
Industrial
Relations Code;
-
Social Security
Code;
-
Occupational
Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code
The Code on Wages was passed in 2019, however the
other three proposals were sent to the Labour Standing Committee. Following the
Committee's recommendations, the government replaced these bills with new ones
in September 2020, which were also passed that month. According to the Labour
Ministry, the rules for all four labour code bills will be published at the
same time[3].
As a result, despite the fact that the draught Rules for the Wages Code were
disseminated in 2019, the Ministry delayed finalising and implementing them.
The author in this
Research paper would be analysing - The
Industrial Relations Code of 2020.
The Industrial Relations Code of 2020 establishes a broader framework for protecting
workers' rights to form unions, reducing friction between employers and
employees, and establishing rules for resolving industrial disputes[4].
The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 is one of the four key labour codes that
are part of the Central Government's largest reform project in decades. It
consists of three primary basic statutes that deal with labour disputes and
collective bargaining agreements, namely:
·
The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947;
·
The Trade Unions Act, 1926;
·
Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act,
1946
Objectives Of The Code
-
The Code was
created to protect employers' and employees' rights by facilitating labour
reforms and making it easier to do business[5].
-
The Code's goal is
to achieve industrial peace and harmony as the ultimate goal in settling
industrial disputes, as well as to further industry's progress by establishing
a harmonious and cordial relationship between employers and employees[6].
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS AND KEY ANALYSIS OF
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS CODE, 2020:
1. Expansion of the Definition of Worker: In the said code, the definition of the term
worker has been widened and thus it also includes working journalists which is
defined under Section 2(f) of the Working journalists and Other Newspaper
Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act of 1955, and
employees of sales promotion, as defined in Section 2(d) of the Sales Promotion
Employees (Terms of Service) Act 1976, are now included in the
definition of
worker[7].
The definition of "worker" includes those who are working in a
supervisory role and earn less than Rs. 18,000 per month (or any sum notified
by the Central Government).
2. Expansion of the Definition of Industry: The definition of industry has been revised to
include "institutions owned or managed by organisations wholly or
substantially engaged in any charitable, social, or philanthropic
service," as defined by the Supreme Court in Bangalore Water Supply
and Sewerage Board v. AS Rajappa[8].
However, the Code excludes "institutions owned or managed by organisations
wholly or substantially engaged in any charitable, social, or philanthropic
service."[9]
3. Status of Bargaining Union: Talking about Trade union law, the Code states
that if an organization has more than one union, the one with 51% of the
employees as members would be granted the status of the exclusive bargaining
union. This is a significant pitfall from the 75% level established in the
2019 legislation. There is also a mechanism for the formation of a bargaining
council if no single union achieves the previously mentioned 51
% criteria. In such circumstances, the council is made up of delegates
from the various unions, as long as they represent at least 20% of the labour[10].
4. The Labour Relations Bill 2019 established the
Labour Disputes (Regulation) Act 1947 in establishments with 100 or more
employees. The 2020 Industrial Relations Code, on the other hand, increased the
threshold to 300 and gave the "relevant government" the power to
exempt any industrial facility or class thereof from all or some of the Code's
rules[11].
5. Freedom to Companies for Employment: Hiring Besides the overall framework, which
entails video notices from several state governments, fixed-term employment has
a legal grounding. It offers companies more freedom to hire according to supply
and demand. If they work for one year under their respective employment
contracts, fixed-term employees are eligible for pro-rata tips.
In terms of
working conditions, salaries, allowances, and other perks, they are treated
equally to permanent employees[12].
6. Section 65 pertains to industrial facilities that
are not covered by Chapter X of the Code, which is effectively Chapter VB of
the Industrial Dispute Act of 1947, when it comes to layoffs and workforce
reductions[13].
It covers industrial firms with more than 50 employees on average every
working day throughout the previous calendar year.
7. Section 77 of Chapter X applies to industrial
establishments that employed no less than 300 workers on average per working
day in the previous 12 months, or a bigger number than the relevant government
may specify[14].
As a result, layoffs, staff downsizing, and closures must be approved in
advance by the government for the companies covered by this rule.
8. Strikes and sudden lockouts are prohibited by the
Code in all companies, thus no
company can strike in violation of the contract 60 days before the strike or
the expiration of a date indicated in the strike notification. Strikes are also
illegal while mediation is taking place and for the next seven days after it is
completed. Strikes are also forbidden while labour court proceedings are
continuing or for 60 days after they are completed. Similar rules were included
in the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947, although they only applied to public
utilities[15].
9. Trade
Union: Negotiating Union and Union Council: The Industrial Relations
Code 2020 proposed a new idea for industrial companies' bargaining trade unions
or negotiating councils. The following is based on the stated provision: The
employer identifies a single union as the workers' only bargaining union in the
case of a single union in an industrial company When there are many unions, the
employer recognises the union with 51 percent of the employees in the
industrial company's model directory as a bargaining union. The employer
establishes a negotiating council made up of representatives of these
registered trade unions, who are supported by at least 20% of the whole
workforce of the industrial company, if none of them meet the above-mentioned
51 percent membership criteria (1 representative for every 20 %). The
Industrial Relations Code of 2020 further states that if the central or state
government considers that a union or confederation needs to be recognised as a
central or state union, the government may do so.
10. Fine:
Any individual who engages in unfair labour practises stated in a schedule to
the Code (such as prohibiting workers from organising trade unions, coercing
workers to join trade unions, destroying employer's property, and so on) is
subject to a fine ranging from 10,000 to 2 lakh rupees.
11. The provisions relating to layoffs and retrenchment (the termination of a worker's employment for
reasons other than disciplinary actions)[16]:
o
Non-seasonal
industrial establishments with 50 to 300 workers and non-seasonal industrial
establishments with at least 300 workers must pay 50% of basic wages and
dearness allowances if a worker is laid off, and the employer must provide one
month's notice or wages for the notice period if the worker is retrenched.
o
Before layoffs,
retrenchments, or closures, a non-seasonal industrial firm with at least 300
workers must obtain prior permission from the national or state government.
This level may be raised by the federal or state governments.
o
If an employer
wants to re-employ someone within a year following retrenchment, he must give
retrenched workers priority over others.
12. Dispute
Resolution Mechanism: Chapter VII establishes a procedure for resolving
labour disputes. According to section 44, the Industrial Tribunal will
henceforth have two members, one of which will be a judicial member and the
other an administrative member. It will adjudicate the issues as a bench,
according to Section 47. Until now, the tribunal has only one member. The
decision will be made by a majority vote. In the event of a conflict, the
matter will be referred to the appropriate government, which will then
designate a judicial member of another tribunal to hear the issue, which will be
determined by a majority vote[17].
13. Process
followed for Matters relation to National Importance: According to the code,
if an industrial dispute involves issues of national importance, the central or
state government may appoint conciliation officers to mediate, investigate, and
hold conciliation processes in order to obtain a fair and peaceful settlement.
The conciliation officer is responsible for sending a settlement report to the
parties involved or the competent government within 45 days. However, with the
consent of the conciliation officer, this period may be extended. If no
resolution is
reached or the parties are dissatisfied with the decision, each party may
file an application with the Industrial Tribunal established under this rule
within 90 days of receipt[18].
Therefore, above
mentioned are key Characteristics and Analysis of industrial relations code,
2020.
Issues
About The Industrial Relations Code:
The relevant paragraph
address some of the concerns raised by the community about the new Code.
-
It has the potential to erode the rights of workers in industrial
enterprises with less than 300 employees.
-
Employers in such modest enterprises have been granted complete
flexibility in terms of hiring and terminating employees.
-
The conditions for legal strikes have been tightened, with the time limit
for workers to give notice of lawful strikes being extended, making it nearly
impossible to call a strike legally.
-
The reskilling fund appears to be framed randomly, and it is unclear
where the entire fund will come from.
Conclusion
And Recommendations:
In a nutshell, in order to have a positive labour
reformation there needs to be harmony in between the industries and the related
factors which could be achieved if there is effective communications between
the Trade unions and the industries were their issues could be addressed in a
justifiable manner. Taking into account this Code does not appear to have taken
into consideration the welfare of labourers, instead providing companies with a
great deal of flexibility in terms of recruiting and layoff. Industrial strikes
are made more difficult by the imposition of new conditions, and social
security regulations are enforced on both official and informal workers. There
is a lot of misuse of the term's 'worker' and 'employee,' which leads to a lot
of confusion. As a result, the Code must be modified to eliminate the present
uncertainties. It is necessary to incorporate provisions to protect
workers'/employees' rights. To prevent abuse, the flexibility granted to
companies must be limited. In terms of working hours, salary, allowances, and
other perks, fixed-term employees should be treated the same as permanent
employees. The increase in the standing order threshold from 100 to 300 is
highly inappropriate for Enterprises with less than 300 employees now have complete
discretion over who they recruit and fire. The marginal informal worker, who
works against all odds and is frequently paid less than the minimum wage, must
be the focus of labour law reform. Such workers are not covered by social
security, and it is these issues that must be addressed rather than simply
merging the laws into one Code and implementing employer-friendly amendments.
References
Webliography:
-
https://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2020/222118.pdf
-
http://docs.manupatra.in/newsline/articles/Upload/FFDEA9F7-D723-471C-9547-ED24D9941248.pdf
-
https://labour.gov.in/whatsnew/industrial-relations-code-2020-no-35-2020
-
https://taxguru.in/corporate-law/industrial-relations-code-2020.html
-
https://www.lawrbit.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/lawrbit-industrial-relations-code-2020.pdf
-
https://www.ijlmh.com/industrial-relations-code-2020-the-dawn-of-the-reformation/
-
https://www.wirc-icai.org/images/material/New-Labour-Laws-2020-AK.pdf
-
https://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR304314.pdf
-
https://blog.ipleaders.in/industrial-relations-code-2020
-
https://www.greythr.com/wiki/acts/industrial-relations-code-2020/
-
https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/98386/117657/F2052452204/IRL98386%202020.pdf
Article Information
Brief Anlysis On Industrial Relations Code, 2020 Introduced Recently In Light Of The International Labor Organization Conventions. (By- Aditi Shreenivas Prabhune)
Authors: Aditi Shreenivas Prabhune
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2022/09/07
- Volume 2
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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