Madras High Court directs Tamil Nadu government to survey all migrant workers
28 August 2020: A division bench of Justices MM Sundresh and R Hemalatha has directed the Tamil Nadu government to undertake an extensive survey to identify, register and enlist all unorganised manual workers to ensure that they benefit from various government schemes. The court also directed the State to ensure that, those who utilise the services of these workers, contribute to welfare boards constituted for them. The court has asked the government to complete the exercise within 12 weeks.
Karnataka High Court seeks government’s response on paid quarantine leave for workers
6 August 2020: A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Ashok S Kinagi has sought government’s response in a Public Interest Litigation filed by the All India Trade Union Congress regarding paid quarantine leave for daily wage workers who are not registered with ESIC and cannot afford undergo the mandatory 14-day isolation upon being tested COVID-19 positive. The bench has asked the government to reply with the economic cost of such a scheme and how it could be implemented.
Rajasthan: Labour department issues notices to construction companies for failure to pay labour cess
4 August 2020: The Rajasthan state labour department has issued notices to construction companies to the tunes of Rs. 1,000 crores for failure to pay labour cess under the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996. The act mandates construction companies to pay 1% of the construction cost of a project as labour cess within 30 days of the completion of the project. Failure to pay the cess attracts an annual interest penalty of 24%. The notices issued in some cases date back to non-compliance since 2015.
Supreme Court issues notice to Gujarat government over amendment cancelling overtime pay
4 August 2020: A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and KM Joseph has issued notice to the Gujarat government over the notification issued by the Gujarat Labour and Employment Department on 17 April 2020, which grants exemption to all factories in Gujarat from provisions of the factories Act, 1948 relating to daily working hours, weekly working hours, intervals for rest and spread-overs of adult workers, and even from the duty to pay overtime wages at double rates as fixed under section 59 of the Act. The notification has been challenged by the Gujarat Mazadoor Sabha.
