EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1294
TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.07.2017
EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK
1294. SHRI KANWAR SINGH TANWAR:
SHRI HARI MANJHI:
SHRI INNOCENT:
Will the Minister of
LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:
(a)whether
the Hon'ble Supreme Court has given a ruling that the theory of equal
pay for equal work should be implemented and if so, the details thereof;
(b)whether
the Hon'ble Court has also reiterated that there should be no disparity
in the salary of regular and casual workers in a welfare State if both
are doing same nature of work and if so, the details thereof;
(c)whether
the Government is aware that the contract workers are being deprived
from equal pay for equal work by their employers and if so, the details
thereof;
(d)whether the Government has set up/proposes to set up a
suitable redressal mechanism in this regard and if so, the details
thereof; and
(e)the other measures taken/proposed to be taken by
the Government for the welfare and social security of workers including
casual/contract workers in the country?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
(SHRI BANDARU DATTATREYA)
(a) & (b): In civil appeal number 213 of 2013 the issue for consideration ofthe Hon'ble Supreme Court was as under:
"whether
temporarily engaged employees (daily-wage employees, ad-appointees,
employees appointed on casual basis, contractual employees and the
like), are entitled to minimum of the regular pay-scale, alongwith
dearness allowance (as revised from time to time) on account of their
performing the same duties, which are discharged by those engaged on
regular basis, against sanctioned posts".
The Hon'ble Supreme Court held that:
"There
can be no doubt, that the principle of ‘equal pay for equal work' would
be applicable to all the concerned temporary employees, so as to vest
in them the right to claim wages, at par with the minimum of the
pay-scale of regularly engaged Government employees, holding the same
post"
(c) & (d): In so far as the contract labour is
concerned, the ContractLabour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970 and
the rules framed thereunder regulate the employment of contract labour.
Rule 25(2)(v)(a) of the Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition)
Central Rules, 1971 provides for parity as mentioned below:
"in
cases where the workmen employed by the contractor 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 of the workmen of the contractor shall
be the same as applicable to the workmen directly employed by the
principal employer of the establishment on the same or similar kind of
work"
A well-established Central Industrial Relations Machinery
(CIRM) is in place to enforce the Contract Labour (Regulation &
Abolition) Act, 1970. The country-wide network of Dy. Chief Labour
Commissioners (Central) and Regional Labour Commissioners (Central)
under the control of Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) is mandated to
settle the complaints/claims of the contract workers in terms of the
provisions of the said Act and the Rules framed thereunder
(e): In
order to provide social security benefits to the workers in
theorganised sector, the Government has enacted the Employees' Provident
Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 and Employees' State
Insurance Act, 1948.
For providing social security benefits to the
workers in the unorganised sector, the Government has enacted the
Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008 which stipulates
formulation of suitable welfare schemes for unorganised workers on
matters relating to:
(i) life and disability cover,
(ii) health and maternity benefits,
(iii) old age protection and
(iv)
any other benefit as may be determined by the Central Government
through the National Social Security Board. Various Schemes, formulated
by the Government to provide social security cover to the unorganized
workers as listed in Schedule I of the above Act.
Central
Government has also launched the Atal Pension Yojana, Pradhan Mantri
Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana for all
citizens especially targeting unorganised workers to provide them
comprehensive social security.
Source : Lok Sabha
