Gujarat's new labour laws come into force

Gujarat's new landmark labour laws providing the state government with greater control over running of industries came into effect from today.
The Labour and Employment Department of the state government issued a notification this evening to put Labour Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015 into effect.
"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Labour Laws (Gujarat Amendment) Act, 2015, the Government of Gujarat hereby appoints the 30th December, 2015, as the date on which the said Act shall come into force," said the notification.
Copies of the notification have been sent to Labour and Employment Department, Labour Commissioner and Director of Industrial Safety and Health, among others.

The Act provides the Gujarat government with greater control over running of industries while trying to minimise disputes between labourers and employees in out-of-court settlement by way of compounding offence.
The laws change certain basic definitions in the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and clauses in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, which allow more policing of the state over industries.

The Act includes reforms like payment of wages by cheque in establishments that employ over 20 labourers. An industrial unit employing more than 50 people will have to get itself registered online with the state government. Inspection will be done at regular intervals in every unit.

The most striking feature in the new laws is to make labour disputes a compoundable offence, meaning disagreements can be settled out of court with Government playing mediator. They also have provisions to ban strikes in public utility services for up to one year.
Labour Minister Vijay Rupani said the new laws are aimed at ushering in transparency and securing rights of labourers.
"We have introduced a provision of compounding offences," he told PTI yesterday.
Labourers and industry houses had to move the court to resolve small disputes and this used to take a lot time. But, under the new provisions, an offence can be compounded and 75 per cent of fine collected through such settlements will go towards welfare of labourers, he said.

The amended legislation provides that labourers working on contract and for outsourcing agencies would also be covered under the Minimum Wages Act.