The Gazetteers Department

Organisation: Ail the Offices dealing with Labour matters fall within the administrative control of the Industries and Labour Department of the Government of Maharashtra. The Commissioner of Labour is the head of all such offices. He has under him six deputy Commissioners of Labour (four at Bombay and one each at Nagpur and Pune); twenty-six Assistant Commissioners of Labour (seventeen at Bombay, four at Nagpur, two at Pune and one each at Aurangabad, Nasik and Kolhapur); fifty-one Government Labour Officers (twenty at Bombay, seven at Nagpur, five at Pune, two each at Aurangabad, Bhandara, Sholapur, Nasik, Ahmadnagar and one each at Thana, Kalyan, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Sangli, Wardha, Akola, Nanded and Amravati); Chief Inspector of Factories, Bombay with subordinate Inspectorates at different important centres of the State and Chief Inspector of Steam Boilers and Smoke Nuisances Bombay, with subordinate Inspectorates.

Function: The Commissioner of Labour performs the statutory functions entrusted to him under the following Acts and/or supervises their enforcement administratively. The Central Acts which he has to enforce are the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947; the Trade Unions Act, 1926; the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946; the Minimum Wages Act, 1948; the Working Journalists (Conditions of Service and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1955; the Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961; the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965; and the Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966.

The enforcement of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946, and the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948, is also entrusted to him. Apart from the above, the Commissioner of Labour supervises and co-ordinates the working of the above mentioned offices under his control. In addition, the office of the Commissioner of Labour performs the following functions, viz.,

(1) Compilation and publication of the consumer price index numbers for working class for Bombay, Sholapur Jalgaon, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nanded and Pune.

(2) Conducting of socio-economic enquiries into the conditions of labour.

(3) Compiling and disseminating information on labour matters in general and statistics regarding industrial disputes, agricultural wages, absenteeism, cotton mill production, Trade unions, etc., in particular.

(4) Publication of two monthlies; viz.,

(i) The Labour Gazette, and

(ii) The Industrial Court Reporter.

(5) Supervision over the working of the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948, where it is administered by local authorities.

In the interest of better administration the office of the Government Labour Officer, Akola, was started in 1960 having jurisdiction over the Akola and Buldhana districts. The Government Labour Officer, Akola has mainly to work as the Labour Officer under the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, whereunder he has to watch the interest of the employees, investigate their grievances and make recommendations to their employers for redressal. He has also to perform other statutory and non-statutory functions under the various labour laws, such as inspection, holding of elections of employees' representatives, supervision over the work of the shop inspectors, investigation into grievances of individual workers, conducting of labour situation enquiries, etc.

He has been also appointed as Conciliation Officer, under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, for the district for mediating in and promoting the settlement of industrial disputes within the meaning of section 2-A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The Assistant Commissioner of Labour at Nagpur also attends to conciliation cases under Sections 2-A and 2 (K) of the same Act.

Labour Unions: The provisions of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946, have been made applicable to the Vidarbha region from 1st May, 1965. One of the Assistant Commissioners of Labour at Nagpur has been notified as Additional Registrar with one Assistant Registrar under him for the Vidarbha region. The Registrar's work is of a quasi-judicial nature and falls under the following heads, viz., (a) recognition of undertakings and occupations; (b) registration of unions; (c) maintenance of approved lists of unions; (d) registration of agreements, settlements, submissions and awards; (e) maintenance of lists of joint committees constituted under Section 48 of the Act; and (f) maintenance of lists of protected employees of unions connected with the industries covered under the Act.

Trade Unions Act, 1926: The Deputy Commissioner of Labour, Nagpur, in addition to his normal duties, has been notified as Additional Registrar of Trade Unions for the Vidarbha region under the Trade Unions Act, 1926. The Additional Registrar is assisted by one of the Assistant Commissioners of Labour at Nagpur who has been notified as Deputy Registrar of Trade Unions for Vidarbha. The functions of the Additional Registrar in connection with administration of Trade Unions Act include the registration of trade unions, registration of amendments to the constitutions of the unions, registration of the dissolution, amalgamation and cancellation of registration of trade unions and submission of annual reports on the working of the Act in the State. There were 34 workers' unions having a membership of 4,934 during 1966-67 in Akola district registered under the Trade Unions Act, 1926.

Industrial Dispute: During the year 1968, 388 complaints under various labour laws were received, out of which 80 were settled in favour of the workers, 75 were indeterminate or untenable, 2 were withdrawn, 2 were sent to appropriate authorities and 149 complaints were decided against workers where as the remaining 80 were pending. 63 Industrial disputes under Section 2-A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, were received in 1969 after the Government Labour Officer, Akola, was vested with the duties connected with the work of Conciliation Officer. Of these no disputes have been settled in favour of the workers and failure reports in respect of 4 disputes have been submitted to the appropriate authorities.

Minimum Wages Act, 1948: The Civil Judges who nave been appointed authorities under the Payment of Wages Act also act as authorities under the Minimum Wages Act to hear and decide claims arising out of payment of less than the minimum rates of wages to employees employed or paid in their respective jurisdictions.

Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948: The Bombay Shops and Establishments Act is applicable to the following local areas in the district. The figures in the bracket show the year of application of the Act. Akola municipal council (1961), Karanja municipal council (1962), Murtizapur municipal council (1963), Katol municipal council (1964), Jalgaon-Jamod municipal council (1969), Balapur municipal council (1961), Akot municipal council (1961), and Washim municipal council (1961).

Employee's State Insurance, Act, 1948: The Employee's Slate Insurance Scheme was implemented in Akola municipal area from 1956. Three Employee's State Insurance dispensaries having 8 medical officers and 52 other staff have been provided for rendering medical facilities to the insured persons. A local office for payment of cash benefits to the 5,332 insured persons working in 18 factories covered under the Employee's State Insurance Act, in this area was also established.

Employee's Provident Fund Act, 1952: The Employees' Provident Fund Act, 1952, has been extended to 50 factories in the district. Nearly 1,500 employees are taking benefits of the Employee's Provident Fund Act and Scheme, 1952.

Authorities under the Workmens' Compensation Act: Under the provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Act (VIII of 1923), the Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation, Bombay has been given exclusive jurisdiction over Bombay and suburban district. The Commissioner has also exclusive jurisdiction to try all cases relating to the Western and Central Railways and the Hydro-electric Companies under the management of Messers Tata Hydro-electric Agencies Ltd., arising in the Slate irrespective of the district in which they occur. The Commissioner has also general jurisdiction over the whole State. The Civil Judge, Senior Division, Akola, is the ex-officio Commissioner for Akola district.

The principal reason for giving the Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation, Bombay, jurisdiction over the whole State is to enable him to settle the cases with Insurance Companies and other firms which have their head offices in Bombay city. But as this arrangement necessarily entails a certain amount of overlapping, Government has issued instructions under Section 20 (2) of the Act for distribution of work between the Commissioner and the ex-officio Commissioners. Under these instructions, the Commissioner at Bombay is authorised, (a) to receive deposits for distribution of compensation under sub-Section (1) and (2) of Section 8; (b) to issue notices to and receive applications from dependants in cases of deposits under these sub-Sections; and (c) to receive agreements for registration under Section 28 wherever the accident may have taken place.

Where a deposit is received or an agreement is tendered for registration, the Commissioner notifies the ex-officio Commissioner concerned. Application for orders to deposit compensation when no deposit under Section 8 (1) has been received, and other applications provided for in Section 22 of the Act should be made to the ex-officio Commissioner within whose jurisdiction the accident occurs Notices to employers under Section 10-A requiring statements regarding fatal accidents in the districts are issued by the ex-officio Commissioners and reports of fatal accident made under Section 10-B are also received by them. After notice has been issued by the ex-officio Commissioner under Section 10-A, the employer deposits the money with the Commissioner at Bombay and the latter notifies the receipt of the deposit to the ex-officio Commissioner concerned. Application for review or commutation of half-monthly payments have to be made to the Commissioner who passed the original orders.

In the Akola district the Civil Judge has been appointed authority for the areas within his jurisdiction.

Industrial Court: The Court of Industrial Arbitration, commonly referred to as the Industrial Court, Bombay constituted under Section 10 of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946, has jurisdiction to decide the disputes arising in the cotton, silk and woollen textile, processing, sugar and electricity industries, etc., in the State of Maharashtra. By the Bombay Industrial Relations (Extension and Amendment) Act, 1965, the Bombay Industrial Relations Act is made applicable to the industries in the Vidarbha area of the State. Before the commencement of this Act, the Central Provinces and Berar Industrial Disputes Settlement Act, 1947, was in force in the said Vidarbha area. The same was repealed by Section 123-A of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act. The Industrial Court has a bench at Nagpur having jurisdiction to decide the disputes arising in the Nagpur division, of which Akola district forms a part.

The Industrial Court acts as a Court of Arbitration in the disputes referred to it by the Government, the representative unions, employers or jointly by the parties to the disputes. In its appellate jurisdiction it decides appeals preferred to it, from the decisions of the Labour Courts at Nagpur and the Deputy Commissioner of Labour in the Nagpur division. It also hears appeals in criminal cases from the decisions, of the Labour Courts. The Government may make a reference to it for a declaration whether a proposed strike, lock-out, closure of stoppage would be illegal. Reference on the point of law can be made to it by the Commissioner of Labour, Conciliator, Labour Courts, as well as by the State Government.

The industrial disputes arising in industries not covered by the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, are referred to the Industrial Tribunal. The member of the Industrial Court, Nagpur bench, is also appointed to work as one man Industrial Tribunal under Section 7-A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

The Labour Courts decide the disputes regarding orders passed under the standing orders governing relations between employers and employees, changes made in any industrial matter specified in Schedule III of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act and Schedule II to the Industrial Disputes Act, The Labour Courts have also powers to decide the legality or otherwise of a strike, lock-out, closure, stoppage or change. The two Labour Courts at Nagpur have jurisdiction over the entire Vidarbha region. As there is no separate Labour Court at Akola, the disputes arising from this district are either heard at Nagpur or one of the Labour Courts at Nagpur take sittings at these places for hearing the cases according to the exigencies of work.

Wage Board: There are three Wage Boards constituted under the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946, for the whole State of Maharashtra, one for the cotton textile industry, one for the silk textile industry and one for the sugar industry. The Wage Boards are to decide such disputes as are referred to them by the State Government under Section 86-C and by the unions and the managements under Section 86-CC of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946. Government can also refer disputes on recommendations from the Industrial Court under Section 86-KK of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946. The Wage Board for the sugar industry was empowered to function as a tripartite body to hear and decide the disputes pertaining to the implementation of the recommendations of the Central Wage Board for the Sugar Industry.

Factory Department: The enforcement of the Factories Act is carried out by the Factory Department. The function of the Factory Department is to ensure that the provisions of the Factories Act are observed by the managements of the factories covered under the Factories Act. Besides this the Department has to administer various other labour laws, viz., the Payment of Wages Act, the Maternity Benefit Act, the Employment of Children Act and the Cotton Ginning and Pressing Factories Act so far as Section 9 of the said Act is concerned.

The Factory Department is under the administrative control of the Commissioner of Labour and Director of Employment, Bombay. The Chief Inspector of Factories is the head of the office and is officially subordinate to the Commissioner of Labour and Director of Employment, Bombay. The Department has a sub-office at Akola under the Junior Inspector of Factories who is assisted by an Inspector of notified factories, and who works under the jurisdiction and supervision of the Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories, Nagpur. Both have jurisdiction over the districts of Akola, Amravati, Buldhana and Yeotmal. The activities of the Factory Department also extend to securing labour welfare amenities such as education, recreation, sports, co-operative societies, housing, etc., for the working classes. The main function of the Inspector is to ensure that the provisions of the Factories Act are observed by the managements of the factories to which the Act is applicable. The Collector is also the ex-officio Inspector of Factories in the district of Akola. The Inspector has power to prosecute, conduct and defend before the courts such of the cases concerned after taking permission from the Chief Inspector of Factories, Bombay.

Steam Boilers and Smoke Nuisances Department: For administrative convenience of the work pertaining to the registration and inspection of boilers, economisers, steam pipes and other kindred matters, the district is placed under the charge of two Inspectors. The work of inspection of boilers, economisers, etc., in Akola city and power house at Paras has been entrusted to the Senior Inspector of Steam Boilers and Smoke Nuisances, Nagpur, whereas the inspections in other parts of the district are carried out by the Inspector of Steam Boilers and Smoke Nuisances with his headquarters at Sholapur, in accordance with the Indian Boilers Act, 1923, and the Rules made thereunder.

Welfare Activities: The Maharashtra Labour Welfare Board is a statutory body constituted under the Bombay Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1953, and conducts labour welfare activities through labour welfare centres. The welfare activities include provision of library and information centres, reading rooms, nursery schools and shishu mandirs, tailoring, sewing and handicraft classes, outdoor and indoor games, hobby classes, dramas and drama festivals, entertainment, educational and recreational programmes, audio-visual aids, scouting, exhibitions, excursions and health programmes, etc. In addition to the daily routine activities enumerated above, occasional activities like celebration of the days of national importance, competitions in games and sports and cultural festivals are also organised in which a great number of workers and their family members and others actively participate.

The Board conducts 4 welfare centres in Akola and one at Karanja. At the two centres in Akola, full-fledged nursery schools and shishu mandirs are being run to impart pre-primary education to the working class children. There is also a shishu varga at the welfare centre at Karanja. The activities at each of the centres are planned and organised as per the annual schedule prepared for all the centres in the State. The welfare organiser who is in charge of the centre is assisted by a kendra up-sanchalika and a kendra sevak in all activities except in the case of nursery school or the shishu mandir for which a nursery school teacher and an ayah are appointed. For the purpose of general administration and supervision, the welfare centres in Akola district are under the direct control of the Workers' Welfare Officer, Akola. The Akola circle office is under the jurisdiction of the Assistant Welfare Commissioner, Nagpur-Aurangabad Division, Nagpur, for all purposes.

TOP