Labour Law Amendments in Gujarat
Honourable President of India finally approved the Labour Laws (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2015 on September 17, which was already passed in State Assembly in the month of February 2015. The notification is under process from the Sate.
Below are the some key changes
Industrial Disputes Act:
- The Government can now ban strikes in public utility services for upto one year for the first time. The ban can subsequently be extended by upto two years any number of times. In the current scenario, the Government could ban strikes for six months for the first time and this ban could be extended any number of times by six months each time.
- The time limit for workers to raise objections to industries’ decisions has been reduced to one year earlier it was three years allowed.
- The Bill proposes to lift restrictions on sacking of workers and payment of compensation for units located in Special Investment Regions (SIR) and National Investment and Manufacturing Zones(NIMZ) like permitted in the Special Economic Zones(SEZ).
Minimum Wages Act:
- Payment of wages by Cheque has been made mandatory. Applicable to establishments who employing 20 or more persons.
- Revised the penalty rates for employers in regards to the violation of various labour laws.
Apart from the above Laws, Bill was also aimed at amending The Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923, The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972; The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 And Unorganized Workers Social Security Act, 2008 etc.
