RECENT AMENDMENTS IN LABOUR LAWS

Simranjeet Singh (Proprietor at S Simranjeet & Associates Company Secretaries)   (4396 Points)

31 July 2010  
Recent Amendments in Labour Laws: Promoting Equity and Welfare
  •      The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 amended to enhance the wage ceiling for its applicability. It is presently fixed at Rs. 10,000/- per month.
  •       The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 amended to enhance the eligibility limit from Rs. 3,500/- per month to Rs. 10,000/- and calculation ceiling from Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 3,500/- per month while making employees employed through contractors on building operations eligible for payment of bonus under the Act.
  •       The Apprentices Act, 1961 amended, inter alia, to provide for reservation for other Backward Classes.
  •       The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 amended to enhance the medical bonus from Rs. 250/- to Rs. 2,500/-and also empowering the Central Government to increase it from time to time before every three years, by way of notification in the Official Gazette, subject to a maximum of Rs. 20,000/-.
  •       The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 amended to improve the quality of delivery of benefits under the scheme and also to enable ESI infrastructure to be used to provide health care to workers of the unorganised sector.
  •       The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 amended for raising the ceiling of Gratuity for employees in the private sector to Rs. 10 lakh from Rs. 3.5 lakh.
  •       The Plantations Labour Act, 1951 amended to provide safety and occupational health care to plantations workers.