Maha govt amends Contract Labour Act to boost industries

In a move that is aimed at furthering its 'Ease of doing business' policy, Maharashtra government has amended the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970 which will help in promoting industries in the state.
"This is one of the steps taken to boost the ease of doing business and promoting industries which in turn will increase the employment opportunities and jobs in future," state Labour minister Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar said.
"The labour department has always acted as a parent for the labourers and tried to protect their rights," he added.
"At the same time we have to make things easier to accommodate more and more industries to promote 'Make in Maharashtra'. As a government we have been trying to balance between the labourer and contractor or employer and make things work smoothly by safeguarding the basic rights of labourers," said the Minister.

Earlier, the law applied to establishments that had 20 or more workers but the number of workers has now been increased to 50.
The Contract Labour Act regulates working conditions of workers and their monthly renumeration, while mandating the provision of holidays, hours of work and terms.
The Act demands the provision of canteen, rest-room and creche facilities. It also requires contractors to be licensed and establishments employing contract workers to be registered with the government.