Chapter: 3 The Industrial Employment Act, 1946

The Industrial Employment Act, 1946

Introduction

Previously employees were free to contract different terms and conditions of service with their employees. But, such a state of affairs led to confusion and made possible discriminatory treatment between employees, though all of them were appointed in the same premises and for the same or similar work. Such a position is clearly incompatible with the principles of collective bargaining and renders their effectiveness difficult, if not impossible. The conditions of service are not uniform in many industrial establishments and sometimes they are not reduced in writing. This led to conflicts resulting in unnecessary industrial disputes. For achieving industrial harmony and peace this Act was passed. It is a beneficent to define with sufficient precision, the conditions of employment of workmen employed under them and to make known to such workmen. The Act applies to every establishment wherein 100 or more workmen are employed on any day of the preceding 12 months.

The expression "Standing Order' means rules relating to matters set in the different Schedules of the Act. The Schedule sets out different model Standing Orders among others (A) For workmen doing manual or technical work (B) For workmen employed to do clerical or supervisory work.

Terms of employment mentioned in the standing orders prevail over the terms of individual agreement and in case of conflict between the Standing Orders and terms of contract, former shall prevail. Standing Orders are binding on all the workers.

The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 is applicable to every establishment wherein 100 or more workmen are employed on any day preceding 12 months. Once the Act is made applicable to an industrial establishment, subsequent reduction in number of workmen will not make that Act in applicable. There is nothing in the Act providing for cessation or discontinuance of application of the Act to an establishment on account of fall in number of workmen or any other account. Standing Orders framed in an industrial establishment do not cease to be operative on purchase of the undertaking by another employer.

The schedule to the Act referred to enumerates matters to be provided in Standing Orders, Model Standing Orders and amendments. The said matters relate to service conditions and include among others, classification of workmen into permanent, temporary etc. shift working, attendance, late coming, closing and reopening of sections and of entire establishment and temporary stoppages thereof and the rights and liabilities of the employers and workmen, disciplinary proceedings, retirement and superannuation.

Within a period of six months from the date on which the Model standing Orders apply to any industrial establishment under the Act, the employer or any workmen employed therein may submit to the Certifying officer five copies of the draft amendments for adoption in the establishment.

On receipt of the draft under section 3, the Certifying Officer shall forward a copy to the Trade Union, if any, or the workmen together with a form of notice requiring objections, and which should be submitted within 15 days.

After giving the employer and the representatives of the workmen opportunity to be heard the Certifying Officer shall decide whether or not any modification is necessary and shall make an Order in writing. The Certifying Officer shall thereupon after making modifications within 7 days send copies to both the parties.

Any party i.e. workmen or employer aggrieved by the order shall within 30 days of the dispatch of copies, file an appeal to the Appellate Authority whose decision is final.

The Standing Orders shall come into operation on the expiry of 30 days from the dispatch of the authentic copies, and where an appeal is preferred within 7 days of the date on which copies are sent. The copy of all the Standing Orders as finally certified under the Act shall be filed by the Certifying Officer in a register and a copy of the Standing Order shall be made available after payment of prescribed fee.

The certified Standing Orders shall be pasted by the employer on the Notice Board preferably at the entrance of the establishment and all departments. The duration of the Standing Orders is one year. Under Section 10-A, where a workman is suspended by the employer pending enquiry into charges of misconduct, the employer shall pay Subsistence Allowance at the rate of 50% of the wages for the first 90 days, 75% for the remaining period, any dispute pertaining to payment of Subsistence Allowance can be raised before the Labour Court. any dispute relating to interpretation of Standing Order shall be referred to Labour Court - Ramkumar Singh V/s Tannary & Footwear Corporation 1979 (34) FLRI. The Government has power to exempt the establishments conditionally or unconditionally.