Dear Comrades,
The
Contract Labour are engaged in the industrial sector by the
Government and Private establishments as per their terms of contract
and requirement and no centralized data is maintained.
However, the estimated number of contract labour engaged by licenced
contractors in central sphere including the industrial sector
in the last three years is as under:
|
Year
|
No. of contract labour covered by such licences
|
|
2009-10
|
13.73lakhs
|
|
2010-11
|
14.89 lakhs
|
|
2011-12*
|
13.07 lakhs
|
*
Provisional
Engagement
of contract labourers is regulated under the
Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, As far
as the security in term of wages and other service
conditions is concerned, as per the Contract Labour
(Regulation & Abolition) Central Rules, 1971 , the wages of the contract
labour shall not be less than the rates prescribed under Minimum
Wages Act, 1948 and in cases where the contract worker perform the
same or similar kind of work as the workmen directly employed by the
principal employer of the establishment, the wage rates, holidays , hours of
work and other conditions of service shall be the same as applicable
to the workmen directly employed by the principal employer doing the same or
similar kind of work. The liability to ensure payment of
wages and other benefits is primarily that of the contractor and, in case of
default, that of the principal employer.
In
the central sphere, the Complaints are received in the field offices of Chief
Labour Commissioner(Central) Organization under the Contract Labour (Regulation
& Abolition) Act, 1970, Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and by other
laws applicable on contract labour which are investigated and action is taken.
Social security aspects of contract workers under Employees Provident Fund and
Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1952 and Employees State Insurance Act 1948 are
enforced by the Employees Provident Fund organization and Employees State
Insurance Corporation respectively provided the establishments in which
outsourced workers are working are covered under the said Acts. Central
Government hasalso prohibited employment of contract labour in various
establishments in central sphere through 84 Notifications issued from time to
time under the Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970. To
safeguard the interests of the contract labour further in term of wages and
social security, a proposal to amend the Contract Labour (Regulation &
Abolition) Act, 1970 is under consideration of the Government.
The
Union Labour & Employment Minister Shri Mallikarjun Kharge gave this
information in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Source : PIB