Lok Sabha passes Bill amending labour laws

The Lok Sabha on Friday passed a Bill to streamline labour laws.

The Bill, passed earlier this week by Rajya Sabha, exempts establishments employing up to 40 workers from filing returns and maintaining registers. The current ceiling is 19 workers. The Trinamool Congress led the other opposition parties, such as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Communist Party of India (Marxist), to oppose the Bill and termed it "anti-labour". The Bill was passed after the House rejected amendments proposed by Trinamool's Saugata Roy.

Minister of State for Labour Bandaru Dattatreya tried to allay opposition fears and said the government was committed to protect the rights of the workers, but will also pursue reforms to create more job opportunities. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Hukum Singh said the new law will help end the "inspector raj" which has resulted in "closure" of a large number of small-scale workshops across the country.

The Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by Certain Establishments) Amendment Bill, 2011, amends the definition of "small" establishments to cover units employing 10 to 40 workers.

The Bill changes the original Act of 1988 and increases the number of legislations under which small establishments are exempt from furnishing returns and maintaining registers to 16. Some of these seven laws added to the list are Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961, the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, etc. Firms can now file returns electronically.

Trinamool's Roy said the government should pay heed on the standing committee report on the issue and increase the purview of the amendments to cover establishments with 25 employees, and not increase it to 40. Sankar Prasad Datta (of the CPI-M), K Suresh (of Congress) and Dharamvir Gandhi (of AAP) opposed the Bill. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Telangana Rashtra Samiti supported the Bill.

The Bill also proposes to amend the Apprentices Act, 1961. This will allow establishments operating in four or more states to be regulated by the Centre, and not the respective state governments, for employing apprentices.