The Gazetteers Department

ALL 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. At present, he has under him, six Deputy Commissioners of Labour (four at Bombay and one each at Nagpur and Poona), twenty-seven Assistant Commissioners of Labour (eighteen at Bombay, four at Nagpur, two at Poona and one each at Aurangabad, Nasik and Kolhapur), thirty-eight Government Labour Officers (eighteen at Bombay, five at Nagpur, three at Poona, two at Aurangabad and one each at Thana, Kalyan, Nasik, Jalgaon, Sholapur, Kolhapur, Ahmad-nagar, Sangli, 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.

The Commissioner of Labour performs the statutory functions entrusted to him under 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 Services and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ac, 1955; the Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961; and the Bidi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966, which are Central Acts; and the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946; and the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948, which are State Acts.

Besides, 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:—

(1) Compilation and Publication of the Consumer Price Index Numbers for working class for Bombay, Sholapur, Jalgaon, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nanded and Poona.

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

(3) Compiling and disseminating information on labour matters generally and statistics regarding industrial disputes, agricultural wages, absenteeism, cotton mill production, trade unions, etc., particularly.

(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.

Functions.

Under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Central Government is the appropriate authority to deal with industrial disputes concerning any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government or the Indian Railways or concerning any such controlled industry as may be specified in this behalf by the Central Government or in respect of banking companies having branches in more than one State including the State Bank of India and the Reserve Bank of India, the Life Insurance Corporation or insurance companies having branches in more than one State or a mine, an oil-field or a major port.

One of the Assistant Commissioners of Labour, Bombay, has been appointed as Registrar under the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946 and has jurisdiction over the entire State. He has one Assistant Registrar under him. 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, and (e) maintenance of a list of joint committees constituted under Section 48 of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act.

The Deputy Commissioner of Labour, Nagpur, is the regional head of all the offices under the Commissioner of Labour in Nagpur and Aurangabad divisions and has been entrusted with the necessary powers for running the administration of the labour offices in these divisions. He performs statutory functions entrusted to him under the Central Provinces and Berar Industrial Disputes Settlement Act, 1947, and the Central Provinces and Berar Shops and Establishments Act, 1947. He is the certifying authority for standing orders under the Central Provinces and Berar Industrial Disputes Settlement Act, 1947. He acts as the Registrar of unions recognised under the said Act and also assists the Commissioner of Labour in matters of labour disputes. He is the chief executive authority under the Central Provinces and Berar Shops and Establishments Act and he is also Conciliator under the Central Provinces and Berar Industrial Disputes Settlement Act, 1947, and under the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946. He is assisted by two Assistant Commissioners of Labour stationed at Nagpur and having jurisdiction over the entire Vidarbha region. Both these Assistant Commissioners are appointed as authorities under Section 16 of the Central Provinces and Berar Industrial Disputes Settlement Act, 1947, and one of them is also appointed as the Assistant Registrar of recognised unions under the said Act. The Assistant Commissioners are also Inspectors under the Minimum Wages Act and Shops and Establishments Act.

There are two Government Labour Officers and one Government Labour Officer-cum-Minimum Wages Inspector (gazetted) in the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Labour, Nagpur. They perform the statutory duties entrusted to them under the Central Provinces and Berar Industrial Disputes Settlement Act, 1947. They are appointed as Conciliators under the said Act and are also Inspectors under the Shops and Establishments Act and Minimum Wages Act. The Minimum Wages Inspector is in charge of enforcement of the Minimum Wages Act in all scheduled industries in Nagpur and Wardha districts. The Government Labour Officers are also appointed as Inspectors under the Working Journalists Act. They deal with individual complaints from all industries which fall within the purview of the State Government.

There is no Government Labour Officer at Wardha. However, the Government Labour Officer, Nagpur, looks after the labour welfare work in the district. However, one office of the Junior Inspector, Shops and Establishments has been established at Wardha and it functions under the administrative control of the Deputy Commissioner of Labour, Nagpur. The Shop Inspector, Wardha is required to implement the provisions of the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948 and also looks after the complaints of the employees under the above Act. The Government Labour Officer in-charge of Wardha district supervises the work of the Inspector and implements the Labour laws in the district.

Conciliation Machinery.

The Conciliation work and other labour disputes from the Wardha district are attended to by the Assistant Commissioner of Labour, Nagpur who has been notified as Conciliator and/or Conciliation Officer under the Bombay Industrial Relations Act and/or the Industrial Disputes Act, respectively.

Labour Unions under the Bombay Industrial Relations Act.

The provisions of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946 have been made applicable to the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions of the State with effect from 1st May, 1965. One of the Assistant Commis-sioners of Labour, Nagpur has been notified as Additional Registrar with one Assistant Registrar under him for Vidarbha region. The Registrar's work is of a quasi-judicial nature and falls under the following heads:—

(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 the list of Joint Committees constituted under Section 48 of the Act; and

(f) Maintenance of list of protected employees of unions connected with the industries covered under the Act.

There are two unions recognised under the Bombay Industrial Relations Act in Wardha district. Those are the Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh, Hinganghat, and the Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh, Pulgaon, both registered in the year 1952.

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 Vidarbha region under the Trade Unions Act, 1926. The Additional Registrar is assisted by one of the Assistant Commissioners of Labour, Nagpur who has been notified as Deputy Registrar of Trade Unions for Vidarbha region. The work of the Additional Registrar in connection with the administration of Trade Unions Act includes the registration of trade unions, registration of amendments to the constitutions of the unions, registration of the dissolutions, amalgamation and cancellation of registration of trade unions and submission of annual reports on the working of the Act in the State based on the information contained in the annual returns submitted by registered trade unions under Section 28 of the Act.

There are 55 workers' unions in Wardha district registered under the Trade Unions Act, 1926.

Minimum Wages Act, 1948

The Government of Maharashtra have fixed the minimum rates of wages for employment in the following industries in the Wardha district:-

(1) oil mill, (2) tobacco (including bidi making) manufactory; (3) rice mill, flour mill or dal mill; (4) cotton ginning and cotton pressing manufactory; (5) any industry in which any process of printing by letter press, lithography, photogravure or other similar work or work incidental to such process or book binding is carried on and any printing press, (6) rubber manufacturing industry, (7) glass industry, (8) tanneries and leather manufacturing, (9) potteries, (10) stone breaking or stone crushing, (11) road construction or building operations, (12) any local authority, (13) any shop or commercial establishment not being an employment in any bank; and (14) cinema exhibition industry.

Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948.

The Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948, has been made applicable to the municipal areas of Wardha, Hinganghat and Arvi in the district

Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, & Employees Provident Fund Act, 1952.

The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948, and the Employees Provident Fund Act, l952 are applicable to Wardha district.

In Wardha district the Civil Judge, Senior Division, Wardha has been appointed authority under the Payment of Wages Act for the area within his jurisdiction.

Authority under Payment of Wages Act, 1936.

The Civil Judges who have been appointed authorities under the Payment of Wages Act have been appointed authorities under the Minimum Wages Act also to hear and decide claims arising out of payment of less than the minimum rates of wages fixed to employees employed in their respective jurisdictions.

Factory Department.

The enforcement of the Factories Act is entrusted to the State and this 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 factories covered under the Factories Act. Besides this, the Department has to administer various other Labour laws viz., Payment of Wages Act, Maternity Benefit Act, Employment of Children Act, and Cotton Ginning and Pressing Factories Act so far as Section 9 of the said Act is concerned.

This Department is under the administrative control of the Commissioner of Labour and Director of Employment. The Chief Inspector of Factories is the head of the office and is subordinate to the Commissioner of Labour and Director of Employment. The Department has a regional office at Nagpur under the Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories, who has jurisdiction over the eight districts of Vidarbha and 5 districts of Marathwada. The activities of this Department also extend to securing labour welfare amenities such as education, recreation, sports, co-operative societies, housing, etc.,

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 Wardha.

The Inspector has power to prosecute, conduct and defend before the courts after taking permission from the Chief Inspector of Factories, Maharashtra State, Bombay.

Stream Boilers and Smoke Nuisances Department.

Wardha district forms part of the Vidarbha division and falls under the jurisdiction of the Senior Inspector of Steam Boilers and Smoke Nuisances with headquarters at Nagpur who is in charge of the division. As the Indian Boilers Act, 1923 and the rules made thereunder viz., the Maharashtra Boiler Rules, 1962 and Maharashtra Economiser Rules, 1965 apply to the whole of the Maharashtra State, the Act and the Rules are also applicable to Wardha. The administration of the Act and the Department. Rules is carried out by the Senior Inspector.

The work carried out by the Department comprises mainly registration and inspection of steam boilers, economisers and steam pipes including mountings and other fittings. The registration and inspection work of steam boilers in the district is carried out by the Inspector of Steam Boilers and Smoke Nuisances with his headquarters at Nagpur. Competency Boiler Attendants Examinations under the Central Provinces and Berar Boiler Rules are held at Nagpur thrice a year for the benefit of the candidates from the Vidarbha region. For that purpose, the Inspector is the secretary to the Board of Examiners at Nagpur.

TOP