Amendment of labour laws

Review/amendment of labour laws is a  continuous process and amendments are made  in labour laws from time to time keeping in view,  inter-alia, the problems of the labourers. Recent  amendments carried out include those under the  Payment of Wages Act, 1936, the Payment of  Bonus Act, 1965, the Apprentices Act, 1961, the  Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, the Employees’  State Insurance Act, 1948, the Industrial Disputes  Act, 1947, the Plantation Labour Act, 1951 and  the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923. A new  Act, namely, the Unorganized Workers’ Social  Security Act, 2008 has also been enacted.  There is no provision for regularization of  contract worker under the Contract Labour  (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970.  The big companies are adopting various  strategies like ancillarisation, outsourcing and  dispersed production network, but there is no  specific evidence to suggest that this strategy is  being adopted to take advantage of flexibility that  smaller firms enjoyed.  This information was given by the Minister  of Labour and Employment Shri Mallikarjun  Kharge in reply to a written question in the Lok  Sabha.  The Inter State Migrant  Workmen (Regulation  of Employment and  Conditions of Service)  Act, 1979, which  stipulates compulsory  licencing of contractors  who arrange migrant  workers, hasn’t been  implemented in 32 years.  There are those who work hard and there are those  who don’t need to work because of them…..