Maharashtra govt forms committee to push labour reforms

Asks Labour Commissioner to look into 20 different acts and rules and make recommendations within a month

To push labour reforms, the Maharashtra government has set up a six-member committee, headed by the labour commissioner, to suggest amendments to the labour laws.

The proposed reforms will be part of the Make in Maharashtra and Digital Maharashtra initiatives by the state government under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship Make in India project.

The committee will submit its report within a month, the state government said in a notification issued on Friday. The committee will look into about 20 labour Acts and recommend amendments.

A senior official, who did not wish to be identified, told Business Standard: “The government wants to bring sweeping changes in the old and archaic labour laws and rules. The state may allow 95 per cent of its industrial units to lay off workers or shut down without seeking government clearances. The Centre's Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 will be amended to allow factories with less than 300 workers to lay off staff or close down without government permission.”  

The official added that smaller industries might be excluded from the provisions of the Factories Act, which applies to units with more than 10 workers with power supply and above 20 workers  without power.

The labour department has suggested raising the limit to 20 and 40 workers, respectively.

According to the official, the Contact Labour Act, 1970 will be amended whereby units with 50 or more workers, instead of the current 20 or more contract workers, will have to register with the government.

However, the official clarified that the various labour acts and rules will be amended only after the committee submit its report and state cabinet gives its approval.