1. Does the IT sector also come under Industrial
disputes Act? Recently there was lay-off in TCS Chennai. How does government
deal with it?
For this question I want to quote Madras High Court
judgement.
The Madras High Court (Feb 2015) said that it is for the
competent authority to decide whether the IT industry would be covered under
the Industrial Disputes (ID) Act or not. If the authority concludes that the
industry employees do not come under the Act, the question whether they require
to be covered under the legislation should be decided only by the government,
it added.
2. So therefore no laws for labour apply to IT
industries?
Industries are not covered by name/individually. It is
covered by the definitions under Industrial Disputes Act.
3. Is there any protection for people who
working under IT industry sir? I’m not able to find any. Labour is in concurrent list. There r more
than 40 central laws… Umpteen state laws... I don’t know how this problem with
IT sector could be linked.
Section 2(j) of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 defines
“Industry” as
“Industry”
means any business, trade, undertaking, manufacture or calling of employers and
includes any calling, service, employment, handicraft, or industrial occupation
or a vocation of workmen;
Using this definition, the word Industry is connected with
the work workmen. The workman is defined in Section 2(s) of the Industrial
Disputes Act as hereunder:
“workman”
means any person (including an apprentice) employed in any industry to do any
manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory
work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied,
and for the purposes of any proceeding under this Act in relation to an
industrial dispute, includes any such person who has been dismissed, discharged
or retrenched in connection with. or as a consequence of, that dispute, or
whose dismissal, discharge or retrenchment has led to that dispute, but does
not include any such person-
(i) Who is subject to the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950),
or the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), or the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957); or
(ii) Who is employed in the police service or as an officer
or other employee of a prison; or
(iii) Who is employed mainly in a managerial or
administrative capacity; or
(iv) Who, being employed in a supervisory capacity, draws
wages exceeding one thousand six hundred rupees per mensem or exercises, either
by the nature of the duties attached to the office or by reason of the powers
vested in him, functions mainly of a managerial nature.
From the two definitions above it is clear that a skilled
worker (software engineer) comes under the definition workmen and a software
company is an Industry whereby Industrial Disputes Act is applicable.
This was an opinion of some legal experts. However High
Court has left it for the government to take a call in this regard.
4. Is bonded labour completely illegal? Or
there is any exemption?
It is abolished by law. But in few parts of our country it
is prevalent which is illegal!!!
5. In this same IT industry I see they ask
graduates to sign these bonds. So is it illegal sir?
Such bonds are there in some government institutions as
well. That is for the inputs/investments they are making in training someone.
Here that individual is free not to enter into that which is not the case in
bonded labour system
6. You mean it is not forced bonded labour. Am I
right sir? if they are just training them. Why can’t be they called apprentices
sir? Then it can be brought under apprentices act. I don’t know if I’m right.
It could be a win-win for both the trainee and the company...
Full term is 'debt bonded labour'. The 'Bonded Labour
Abolition Act' very clearly abolishes the practice of debt bondage - where men
or women pledge their labour as collateral in a debt agreement. It has nothing
to do with the signing of a legal contract requiring employee to pay a certain
amount in damages for prematurely breaking the contract - which is what is
colloquially referred to as 'bond' by the Indian ITeS industry.
The TCS bonds are more service agreements/ legal contracts.
Only the forced labour/ debt bonded labour is illegal in India.
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