PIL against employment of contractual workers in Gujarat HC

AHMEDABAD: Unorganised workers across Gujarat’s automotive, textile, pharma, plastic industry who downed shutters several times over last three years protesting low wages and poor working conditions have approached the Gujarat High Court to claim their rights as employees.

A PIL filed by advocate Nihil Mehta recently has stated although 83% of Gujarat’s 2.5 crore workforce is unorganised, employers are breaching labour laws to their advantage and keeping them of the legitimate benefits as employees despite engaging them in work that in permanent or hazardous in nature. Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice JB Pardiwala have issued notices to the Gujarat government, labour commissioner, director (industrial safety and health) and regional provident fund commissioner, returnable in a fortnight.

The PIL has sought that a commission comprising one retired High Court Judge, one retired industrial tribunal president and two members from employers’ association and employees’ association to gather details about contractual workers in the state.

The PIL states of the near 37,000 factories registered with the director (industrial safety and health) in Gujarat in 2010, only 5418 filed consolidated annual returns, reporting a little over 3.4 lakh workers. It adds that annual return mandated as per the provisions of The Factories Act, The Minimum Wages Act, The Payment of Wages Act, The Maternity Benefit Act, The Inter State Migrant Workers Act and Equal Remuneration Act are violated. The PIL states that the authorities concerned are not maintaining sufficient records as per the statutory provisions.

While employers are getting numerous benefits in saving their tax, production cost by way of introducing various holidays or packages under the law, they have been victimising workers. The PIL adds that statutory checks are not being made before issuing or renewing licenses to the principal employers. Licenses have been granted to contractual workers for performing main, basic and grassroots duties at factories. The PIL says contractual workers are made to sign their resignation letters beforehand at the time of employment and are made to quit at the end of second year without benefits of gratuity or provident fund. The same worker then continues service with yet another contractor in the same factory. The PIL notes that despite workers have worked in a company for 10 years, the nature of agreement between the contractors and the employers forces them to take an “artificial break” in their service period.

Earlier, the principal employer would employ 90% of its unorganised workforce, while the rest was managed by contractual employer. Currently however, more than 80% workmen are contractual whose nature of work is permanent and even hazardous in certain cases. Workers engage in manufacturing, maintenance, quality control and packaging.