The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946

Chandan raj

Extent and Application

(1) This act may be called the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946.

(2) It extends to the whole of India

(3) It applies to every industrial establishment wherein one hundred or more workmen are employed, or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve months:

Provided that the appropriate Government may, after giving not less than two months’ notice of its intention so to do, by notification in the Official Gazette, apply the provisions of this Act to any industrial establishment employing such number of number of persons less than one hundred as may be specified in the notification :

Objective

There are many causes of friction between management and workers in industrial undertakings due to the absence of clear cut and precise conditions of employment.

This act provide for the conditions of employment and make the said conditions known to the workers.

Definitions

Appellate Authority means an authority appointed by the appropriate Government by notification in the official Gazette to

exercise the functions of an appellate authority under this Act:

Provided that in relation to an appeal pending before an Industrial Court or other authority immediately before the commencement of this Act, the Court or authority shall be deemed to be the appellate authority [Section 2 (a)]

Appropriate Government means in respect of industrial establishments under the control of Central Government or a Railway Administration or in a major port, mine or oilfield,

the Central Government, and

in all other cases, the State Government. (Section 2(b))

Certifying Officer means a Labour Commissioner or a Regional Labour Commissioner, and includes any other officer appointed by the appropriate Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, to perform all or any of the functions of a Certifying Officer under this Act (Section 2(c))

Employer means the owner of an individual establishment to which this act applies and includes –

In a factory, any person named as manager of the factory; In any industrial establishment under the control of any

department of any Government in India, the authority appointed by such Government in this behalf;

In any other industrial establishment, any person responsible to the owner for the supervision and control of the industrial establishment (Section 2(d))

Industrial Establishment means-An industrial establishment as defined in Section 2(ii) of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936,A factory as defined in section 2(m) of the Factories Act, 1948,A railway as defined in Section 2 (4) of the Indian Railways Act, 1890,The establishment of a person who, for the purpose of fulfilling a contract with the owner of any industrial establishment employs workmen (Section 2 (e))

Workman means any person employed in any industrial establishment to do any skilled or unskilled manual, supervisory,technical or clerical work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be expressed or implied. [Sec. 2(i)]

Standing Orders means rules relating to matters set out in the schedule [Sec.2(g)]

Procedure for Certification (Section 3)

With in 6 months from the date on which this Act is applicable to an industrial establishment :the employer of an industrial establishment is required to submit to the certifying officer five copies of the draft standing orders proposed to be adopted by him in his industrial establishmenttogether with the prescribed particulars of workmen, employed and name of trade union if any to which they belong. (Section 3)

On receipt of the draft, the certifying officer shall forward a copy thereof to the trade union, if any, of the workmen or to the workmen requiring objections if any, which the workmen may desire to make to the draft standing orders to be submitted by him within 15 days from the receipt of the notice.

Then the certifying officer shall decide whether or not any modification or addition to the draft is necessary to render it certifiable under the Act and shall make an order in writing.

The Certifying Officer shall there upon certify the draft standing orders and shall send within 7 days copies of the certified standing orders to the employer and to the trade union or representative of the workmen. (Section 5)

Certifying Officers have Powers of the Civil Court [Section 11]

Every certifying officer shall have all the powers of a Civil Court

1. receiving evidence2. administering oaths3. enforcing the attendance of witness4. Compelling the discovery and

production of documents it shall be deemed to be a Civil Court

Appeals

Any employer, workman, trade union aggrieved by the order of the certifying officer, may within 30 days appeal to the appellate authority, whose decision shall be final. (Section 6)

The appellate authority shall within 7 days of its order send copies to the certifying officer, to the employer and to the trade union copies of the standing orders as certified by it and authenticated in the prescribed manner. (Section 6)

The appellate authority has no power to set aside the order of the Certifying Officer. It can confirm or amend the Standing Orders.

Date of Operation of Standing Orders

Standing orders, will unless an appeal is preferred, come into operation on the expiry of 30 days from the date on which the authenticated copies of the same are sent or where appeal is preferred, on the expiry of 7 days from the date on which copies of order of the appellate authority are sent (Section 7)

Register of Standing Orders

A copy of all standing orders as finally certified under this Act shall be filed by the Certifying Officer in a register in the prescribed form

It shall furnish a copy of it to any person on payment of the prescribed fees. [Section 8]

Pasting of Standing Orders

The text of the standing orders finally certified shall be prominently pasted by the employer in English and in language understood by the majority of the workmen on special board to be maintained for that purpose at or near the entrance through which the majority of workmen enter the industial establishment (Section 9)

Duration and Modification of Standing Orders (Section 10)

Standing orders, finally certifiedshall not except on agreement between the employer and the workmen, be liable to modify until the expiry of 6 months from the date on which the standing orders or last modification thereof came into operation.

An employer, workmen, trade union or any representative body of workmen may apply to the certifying officer to have the Standing Orders modified and such applications shall be accompanied by 5 copies of the modification proposed to be made and where such modification are proposed to be made by agreement between employer and the workmen a certified copy of that agreement shall be filed along with the application.

Payment of Subsistence Allowance (Section 10-A)

Where the employer suspend the workman pending investigation or inquiry into complaint or charges of misconduct against the workman the subsistence allowance shall be payable:

At the rate of 50% of the wages which the workman was entitled to immediately preceding the date of such suspension for the first 90 days of suspension; and

At the rate of 75% of such wages for the remaining period of suspension if the delay in completion of disciplinary proceedings against such workman is not directly attributable to the conduct of such workman.

If any dispute arises regarding the subsistence allowance payable to a workman, it may be referred to the Labour Court constituted under I.D. Act, 1947.

Interpretation of Standing Orders (Section 13 A) If any question arises as to the interpretation of a

Standing Order certified under this Act, any employer, workman or trade union may refer the question to any of theLabour Courts constituted under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and

specified for the disposal of such proceedings by the App. Govt. by notification in the Official Gazette and the L. Court to which is referred to,

shall after giving the parties an opportunity of being heard, decide the question and such decision shall be final and binding on the parties. (Section 13 A)

Penalties and Procedure (Section 13)

An employer who fails to submit draft standing orders as required by section 3 or who modifies standing orders otherwise than in accordance with Sec.10,

shall be punishable with fine which may extend to 5000 rupees and in case of a continuing offence with a further fine which may extend to 200 rupees for every day after the first, during which the offence continues.

An employer, who does any act in contravention of the standing orders finally certified under this Act for his industrial establishment shall be punishable with fine which may extend to 100 rupees, in case of continuing offence with a further fine which may extend to 25 rupees for every day after the first, during which the offence continues.

No prosecution for an offence punishable under this section shall be instituted except with the previous sanction of the appropriate Government.

No Court, inferior to that of a Presidency Magistrate or Magistrate of Second Class shall, try any offence under this Section.

Special Feature of the Act

1. The employer of every industrial establishment to which the Act applies is required to frame draft standing orders and to submit them to the certifying officer, who is generally the Labour Commissioner;

2. The definition of workman under this Act includes a “Supervisory Technical Personnel” under certain conditions;

3. The certifying officer is empowered to modify or add the draft standing orders so as to render them certifiable under the Act;

4. A Group of employers of similar industrial establishments may submit joint standing order;

5. The Government set out model standing orders, the draft standing order framed by an employer should as far as practicable be in conformity with the Model Standing Orders.

6. The Act normally applies to every industrial establishment wherein 100 or more workmen are employed.

7. The certifying officer and appellate authorities shall have all the powers of a Civil Court

8. The employers can be penalised for faliure to submit draft Standing Order for certification or contravention of any provision of the standing order finally certified.

9. The appropriate Government may by a Gazette notification exempt any establishment or class of establishment from any of the provisions of the Act.

10. The appropriate Government may after previous publication by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the purpose of the Act.

MATTERS TO BE PROVIDED IN STANDING ORDERS UNDER THIS ACT

1. Classification of workmen, e.g., whether permanent, temporary, apprentices, probationers, or badlis.

2. Manner of intimating to workmen periods and hours of work, holidays, pay-days and wage rates.

3. Shift working.4. Attendance and late coming.5. Conditions of, procedure in applying for, and

the authority which may grant leave and holidays.

6. Requirement to enter premises by certain gates, an liability to search.

7. Closing and reporting of sections of the industrial establishment, temporary stoppages of work and the rights and liabilities of he employer and workmen arising there from.

8. Termination of employment, and the notice thereof to be given by employer and workmen.

9. Suspension or dismissal for misconduct, and acts or omissions which constitute misconduct.

10. Means of redress for workmen against unfair treatment or wrongful exactions by the employer or his agents or servants.

11. Any other matter which may be prescribed.