Have you prepared the most important questions from Block 3 Unit 2 for IGNOU MAPC MPCE032 Exam? Don't miss this chance to score good marks - start NOW!

Block 3 Human Resource Laws

Unit 2 Labour Laws (Indian And International)

1) Keeping the distinctive feature of Indian labour, briefly explain the various labour laws.

Distinctive Features of Indian Labour Laws & Overview

• Indian labour laws are unique in that they categorise employees into three main groups: government employees, employees in government-controlled corporate bodies (Public Sector Undertakings or PSUs), and private sector employees.
• Government employees generally have job security, statutory service conditions, and regular salary increments.
• Public sector employees are governed by their own service regulations, which may have statutory force.
• Private sector employees are divided into management staff and workmen. Managerial staff are governed by their employment contracts, while workmen are protected under the Industrial Disputes Act.
• There are approximately fifty national labour laws and numerous state-level laws in India.

Key Indian Labour Laws

• The Factories Act, 1948: Regulates health, safety, welfare, working hours, and leave for workers in factories.
• The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947: Aims to prevent unfair labour practices and provides a framework for resolving disputes between management and workers. It also gives workers the right to form or join unions.
• The Trade Union Act, 1926: Allows workers to form and register their trade unions.
• The Minimum Wages Act, 1948: Ensures that workers receive a minimum wage.
• The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923: Provides compensation to employees for injuries sustained at work.
• The Contract Labour Act, 1970: Prohibits companies from hiring temporary workers.
• The Child Labour Act, 1979: Makes it illegal for children to work in hazardous industries.

2) What do you understand by the terms – ‘individual labour law’ and ‘collective labour law’?

• Individual Labour Law: Focuses on the rights of individual employees in the workplace, defining standard conditions for employment contracts between an employer and an employee.
• Collective Labour Law: Governs the relationship between employees, employers, and trade unions, establishing rules for resolving disputes that may arise between these three parties in an organisation.

3) What are the basic features of International Labour Organisation?

Basic Features of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)

• The ILO aims to promote social justice and internationally recognised human and labour rights.
• Its objectives include:
  • Promoting full employment and raising the standard of living of employees.
  • Establishing training policies related to wages and other working conditions.
  • Facilitating the right to collective bargaining.
  • Enhancing cooperation between management and labour.
  • Preventing international competition that disadvantages workers.

4) Explain the important Core Conventions of ILO. Illustrate few examples.

Core Conventions of the ILO

• ILO Conventions are instruments designed to create international obligations for states. These conventions are adopted within an institutional framework and do not require the typical diplomatic negotiations associated with treaties.

• Here are some core conventions, along with the number of ratifying countries as of December 1997:

  • Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948: Guarantees workers' and employers' rights to form and join organisations without prior authorisation (121 ratifications).
  • Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949: Protects workers and employers against interference from each other and promotes collective bargaining (137 ratifications).
  • Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957: Prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labour (130 ratifications).
  • Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958: Requires policies to eliminate workplace discrimination based on race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin (129 ratifications).
  • Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951: Mandates equal pay for men and women performing the same or similar work (135 ratifications).
  • Minimum Age Convention, 1973: Sets the minimum age for employment, stipulating that it should be no less than the age of completing compulsory schooling, with a lower limit of 14 years for developing countries, and 15 otherwise. (59 ratifications).

Important Points

• The labour laws of India have broadly categorised Indian organisations into factory and shops and commercial establishments categories.
• Approximately, there are over fifty national laws and many more state-level laws.
• Shops and commercial establishments refers to those entire places where the ultimate products or goods are sold to its end users – the customers and consumers.
• Factories consist of all such industrial establishments which have employed at least 10 persons and carry manufacturing activities.

• The act of industrial disputes was constituted in 1947 in order to delimit the unfair labour practices. The Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 was created to limit unfair labour practices by employers, workers, or trade unions through fines and imprisonment.
• The minimum wages act says that the employees should be given a minimum wage. The Minimum Wages Act of 1948 mandates that employees receive a minimum wage to meet their daily needs.
• The employees of the public sector are governed by their own service regulations, which has a statutory force. Employees in the public sector are governed by their own service regulations, which can have a statutory basis.
• The Contract Labour Act of 1970 actually prohibits companies from hiring temporary workers.

• With the help of formulating the laws, the ILO facilitates training policies in regard to wages, hours of work and other conditions of work. The International Labour Organization (ILO) aims to establish training policies related to wages, working hours, and other employment conditions.
• Conventions are instruments designed to create international obligations for the states. ILO Conventions are designed to create international obligations for the states that adopt them.
• In the America, the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) has accepted the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation. NAFTA has accepted the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation.
• According to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990), the minimum age for admission to employment shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling, and in any case not less than 15 years (14 for developing countries). This charter aims at the abolition of child labour.