The Employees' Compensation Bill 2016, which seeks to raise the cap of disputed amount of compensation for appeal in high courts, will be introduced in the Lok Sabha tomorrow.
Section 30 of the Employees' Compensation Act 1923 provides for appeal in high courts whenever the disputed amount (of compensation) is more than Rs 300. The Bill seeks to raise this to Rs 10,000.
"The Employees' Compensation Amendment Bill 2016 will be introduced in the Lok Sabha tomorrow and hopefully pushed for passage during the current session," a source said.
"One of the main objectives of the Bill is to reduce litigation. This legislation is almost a century old. Nobody will seek compensation less than Rs 300 under this Act as cost of living index has increased many fold since then."
The bill also provides for increase in penalty for contravention of the Act to Rs 50,000, from the current Rs 5,000.
The Employees' Compensation Act, 1923, provides for payment of compensation to workmen and their dependants in the case of injury by industrial accidents, including certain occupational diseases arising out of and in the course of employment resulting in death or disablement.
The Bill also proposes to impose penalty for failure to display provisions of the Act.
The Act provides under section 30A that the Commissioner could exercise discretion to withhold payment of an employee whenever an appeal in a high court is filed.
The legislation proposed to omit Sector 30A. With this omission, the amount can be withheld only when there is a stay or order to that effect by the high court where the appeal is filed.
The Law Commission of India, in its reports in 1974 and 1989 related to the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923, (now known as Employees' Compensation Act, 1923), recommended to review/amend/repeal various provisions of the Act.
The proposed Bill is based on the report of the Law Commission which intends to close more litigations at the level of Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation appointed by state governments for a particular area.
The other objective of the Bill is to put in more deterrence for better compliance.
