Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia

JAIPUR: Rajasthan Assembly on Thursday passed the amendments to the archaic labour laws which were left untouched by governments in the past fearing political and social backlash.After winning a thumping mandate with 163 out of 200 seats on the plank of development and job creation, chief minister Vasundhara Raje took the bold step to enhance the ease of doing business, encourage industrial activity and generate new jobs.Although the amendments to Industrial Disputes Act 1947 , Contract Labour Act 1970 , Factories Act 1948 and Apprenticeship Act 1961 were hailed by the industries, trade unions slammed the decision accusing that the move was unilateral and detrimental to the interests of the workers.Since the Bills require the President's approval, the trade unions said they would approach the highest authority of the country to nullify the state government's attempt.As per the amendments to Industrial Disputes Act 1947, companies employing up to 300 workmen would not be required to obtain prior permission of the state government for initiating lay offs, retrenchment or closure of the establishment. Under the existing rules, the bar was capped at 100 employees."The move will provide relief to a large number of companies to realign their businesses. Because of the existing norms, even though the promoters wanted to exit loss-making businesses or lay off because of demand contraction, the lengthy process to obtain permission only added to their woes," said Nitin Gupta, head, CII-Rajasthan.The government made changes in the criteria required for the formation of labour unions. Under the current norms, any union having a membership of not less than 15% of the total workforce in any company may apply for registration.The existing lower limit allowed many unions to come up often increasing inter-union conflicts and multiplicity in an industry. To minimize this, the government increased the membership from 15% to 30%.The current rules also set no time limit for raising disputes arising out of discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination. But the amendments have brought in a time-limit of three years within which such disputes can be raised. The move is aimed at reducing the volume of litigations for companies.Similarly, as per the amendments, the Contract Labour Act will now apply to every establishment in which 50 or more workmen are employed. Previously, the Act applied to establishments in which 20 or more workmen were employed.Due to the threshold limit, employers while hiring personnel or procuring commodities from small entrepreneurs and contractors, found it difficult to execute contracts, as the small units faced hardship in ensuring formalities under the Act. The lower limit also encouraged non-compliance.In the Factories' Act, the definition of "factory" has been amended. It will now apply to those companies (run with aid of power) where at least 20 people are employed instead of 10. For firms running without power, the number has been increased to 40 from 20.The state government reasoned that because of the existing limit, small units are also covered under the definition of "factory" requiring several compliances. The amendments are aimed at promoting establishment of small manufacturing units and creating more employment opportunities.For speedy disposal of offences and minimizing number of litigations, a new provision has been inserted to compound offences which is missing in the existing Act.Moreover, amendments have been made to ensure that no inspector can initiative any proceedings against any company without the prior permission of the government.The state has amended several features in the Apprenticeship Act 1961. The changes cover reducing the training period, empowering state bodies for grievance redressal, flexibility in deciding the number of apprentices, provision for third-party training and allowing minimum wages, which can also be shared by the state government.