In attaining international uniformity International Labour

Organization (I.L.O.) has played an important part. It aims at

securing minimum standard on uniform basis in respect of all
labour matters. Uniformity of standards can be maintained only by
enforcing various industrial laws.
The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 regulates payment of wages to employees (direct and
indirect). The act is intended to be a remedy against unauthorized deductions made by
employer and/or unjustified delay in payment of wages

3. Responsibility for payment of wages

4. Fixation of wage-periods

5. Time of payment of wages

Definition of wages under payment of wages act. Section 2:

wages” means all emoluments which are earned by an employee while on duty or on leave
in accordance with the terms and conditions of his employments and which are paid or
are payable to him in cash and includes dearness allowance but does not include any
bonus, commission, house rent allowance, overtime wages 
The Minimum Wages Act 1948 is an Act of Parliament concerning Indian labour law that
sets the minimum wages that must be paid to skilled and unskilled labours.

Section 2:

"wages" means all remuneration expressed in terms of money, which is mentioned in the contract of
employment, express or implied, payable to a person employed in respect of his employment.
includes house rent allowance] but does not include travelling allowance, any cost bear by him is
disposing any work assigned in the employment or amenities allowance.

"employee" means any person who is employed or hire for reward to do any work, skilled or
unskilled, manual or clerical work

The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 provides for the payment of bonus to persons

employed in certain establishments.

Section 2(21) in The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965

(21) “salary or wage” means all remuneration (other than remuneration in respect of over-
time work) capable of being expressed in terms of money, which would, if the terms of
employment, express or implied, were fulfilled, be payable to an employee in respect of
his employment or of work done in such employment and includes dearness allowance

The bonded Labour System Abolition Act, an Act to provide for the abolition of
bonded labour system to prevent the economic and physical exploitation of the weaker
sections of the people.
"bonded labourer" means a labourer who incurs a bonded debt;
"bonded labour system" means the system of forced, or even partly forced, labour
under which a debtor enters into an agreement with the creditor
The Factories Act, 1881 was passed with a view to fix the wages of industrial workers and
to allow the workers to form trade unions.

The Factory Act -1881

 Child labour below 7 years was prohibited

 Children between age of 7-12, were to work for 9 hours/ day.
 Mid-day meal interval, 4 holidays/ month provided.
 This act applicable only to factories using mechanical powers, employing not less than 100
works and working for not more than 4 months in a year

Factory Act-1891 (2Nd Act)

 Minimum age raised from 7 to 9 and between 9 and 14 die work limit was only for
 8 hours with no work at night.
 To women employment at night prohibited and work for 11 hours and 11/2 hrs. of rest
allowed.
 For all workers including male a mid day stoppage and one days rest/ week was prescribed
 The act applied to all factories employing not less than 50 persons
 In 1906, textile factory and labour committee was appointed and on its report the factory act
of 1911 was enacted.

Factory Act-1911 (3Rd Act)

 Certification of children's age was required and for the first time hours of work for adult male
workers was fixed at 12 hours/day.

Factory Act 1922 (4Th Act)

 It abolished the distinction between textile and non-textile factories

 All workshops employing more than 20 workers with power were brought under the scope of
this act.
 The minimum age for children was raised to 12 and the working hours of children between
ages 12-15 had to work for elders 12 hours/day and 60 hrs/work.
 In 1929, Royal commission on Indian labour was appointed and submitted in report in 1931
and on the basis of its recommendations factory act of 1934.

Factory Act of 1934

 Distinction drawn between Perennial and seasonal factories,

 Factory workers divided into 4 categories Adult Males, Adult females, Adolescence (15-17)
and children (12-15)
 In the case of seasonal factories the maximum limit of 11 hours/day and 60 hours/ week was
laid down. In the case of perennial factory maximum hours 9/day and 54 hours/week.
 Maximum hours of the principle of spread over (limitations of the period of consecutive hours
in a working day) introduced by the act for the first time.
 The spread hour limited to 13 hours for adults and 71/2 hours for children and adolescence
  In 1946, the hours of work in Perennial factories reduced from 54 to 48 and in season factories
60 to 54.
 The factory act of 1915, further reduced to 48 hours/ week and eliminated the distinction
between seasonal and perennial factories.

Factories Act, 1948

Working hours should not exceed 9 hours in a day. And may extend up to 10and1/2 a day

Industrial Disputes
Trade Union Act -1926

It laid down certain conditions regarding registration of trade unions.

The main condition was that at least 50% of office bearers had to be workers.

The funds of the trade union to be collected only by the recognized unions.

Madras High Court declared trade unions as legal.

Activities not be related to politics and funds not to be

diverted political activities.

Every trade union was required to submit to the register every years to list of office bearers, copy of
the rules and an audited statements of receipts and expenditure.

Trade Dispute Act 1929

 The Act was passed after 1929's Bengal Jute Mills strike.
 It prescribed penalties for public utility servant launching a strike without giving a notice of 14
days.
 The act declared 2 types of strikes illegal:
 sympathetic strikes;
 coercive strikes - those that cause severe hard ships to the public for compelling government
to accept the demands of the strikers.
 The act was involved only 5 times during those years more than 1200 industrial disputes
occurred.

RESEARCH PAPER

As observed in Indian Express Newspapers v. Indian Express Newspapers Employees Union Indian
Industrial Jurisprudence is based on the principles of social justice and equity, international
uniformity and national economy. These principles, to get legal sanctity, are dependent on the
objective enshrined in the constitution.
Justice Krishna Iyer observed that social justice is on the integral part of the industrial
jurisprudence, and industrial jurisprudence is not static or rigid but dynamic.
The concept of labour welfare in India is interlinked with the British Colonials. With the
abolition of slavery in 1833, there was a need for cheap labour in the British colonies, which
prompted them to import labour from India and as a result, labour welfare activities in
colonial India evolved.
And at the same time, The Factories Act, 1881 came as a boon for the labours and was the
stepping stone for the series of labour laws which particularly aimed at improvements in the
working conditions of labours. In 1991, the International Labour Organization (ILO) was
founded which perceived the significance of the labour class in the financial and social
resetting of the world and recommended a few changes in labour welfare measures regulating
in India.
The concept of labour welfare is a very comprehensive concept, it means a condition of well-
being, happiness, satisfaction, and development of human resource.1

According to ILO, labour welfare incorporate such administrations to empower the people to
perform their work in sound and amicable environment.
All these concepts of labour welfare is incorporated in the constitution.
the values depicted in Preamble, word socialist and social and economic justice directly
related to values of industrial jurisprudence.
DS Nakara v. UOI, court observed that the principal aim of a socialist State is to eliminate
inequality in income, status and standards of life. The basic framework of socialism is to
provide a decent standard of life to the working people.
Social justice, in context of labour-employer relationship, refers to eliminating inequalities
existing in service, improvement of living condition, comfortable and amicable working
condition,
the object of the term social and economic justice does not confine to poor or deprived class.
The attempt is to secure just, fair and equitable social order and represents judicious
conciliation between employer and employee in accordance with the common good
In Grindlays Bank v. Central Government of Industrial Tribunal,2 court observed the the
industrial dispute act, 1947 is a piece of legislation which ensure social justice to both
employers and the employees and ensure progress of industry.

Article 383, directs the state to ensure and promote welfare of the people. It specifically,
declares that the State shall limit the inequalities in pay, and attempt to eliminate imbalances
in status

1
P. Tyagi, Labour Economics and Social Welfare, page no 601, 2004.
2
1981 AIR 606.
3
The Constitution of India, 1950, Art. 38.
Article 39 embodies the principle of equal pay for equal work. And directs the state to
ensure right to adequate means to livelihood and equal distribution of resources to serve
the common good.
The idea of equal pay for equal work is embodied in The Minimum Wages Act
1948 concerns about Indian labour law that sets the minimum wages that must be paid to
skilled and unskilled labours.

ARTICLE 42: ENSURES JUST AND HUMANE CONDITIONS OF WORK AND MATERNITY
RELIEF. THE FACTORIES ACT, 1948 (The act is to provide protection to the exploited
workers and improve the working conditions in the industries and factories.) AND THE
MATERNITY BENEFIT ACT, 1961 ENSURES THE IDEA DEPICTED IN THIS ARTICLE.

Article 43 mandates a state, to ensure a suitable law or any plausible measures to all labours
to work a living wage, guaranteeing a decent standard of life and opportunities.

ARTICLE 43A: PARTICIPATION OF WORKERS IN MANAGEMENT OF INDUSTRIES

Article 46 states that the State shall promote the educational and economic
interests of the weaker sections of the people.

Article 47 obligates the State to raise the level of the standard of living of its people w hich
has relevant to industrial enactment corresponding to fixed wages and dearness allowance
etc.
Minimum wages act, 1948.

Among all these articles, Article 39, 41, 42, 43 and 43A are collectively termed as“Magna
Carta of working class in India.”4

It guarantees the Right to equality through article 14 to 18. The right to equality in the field of
labour law can be depicted under the Equal Remuneration Act, 19765 which aimed to provide
equal wages for equal work.

in Randhir Singh v. Union of India,6 the court held that-

“Article 39(d), of the Constitution declares the idea of 'equal pay for equal work for both the
men and women. Articles 14 guarantees the fundamental rights to equality before the law
and quality of opportunity in the matter of public employment.”

4
0.P. Malhotra, The Law of Industrial Disputes, p .27 (N.M. Tripathi Pvt. Ltd. Bombay, 3rd ed.2 Vol. 1 (1901).
5
the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 (Act no. 25 of 1976).
6
1982(1) SLJ 490 (SC).
According to article 197 of the constitution, citizens of India have the liberty to profess any
work, however, the freedom granted to the individuals are not absolute and are subjected to
reasonable restriction.
Gammon India Ltd. v. Union of India, while describing the object and purpose of the Contract
Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, held that the Application of the Act to pending
construction works does not amount to unreasonable restriction on the right under Article 19(1)(g)
since it is welfare act and prohibition of contract labours come within the ambit of reasonable
restriction.

Further, article 218 of the constitution guarantees right to life and personal liberty. The right
to life under article 21 guarantees not only the right to live but the right to live with dignity.

In D.K. Yadav v. J.M.A. Industries,9 the Supreme Court has held that it is arbitrary and unjust
to terminate service without giving reasonable opportunity of hearing and is clear violation of
the right to life under Article 21which includes the right to livelihood.

Articles 23 and 24,10 prohibits forced labour and forbids child labours respectively.
The Supreme Court in PUCL v. State of T.N., this Court observed that failure to rehabilitate
freed bonded labourers would violate Articles 21 and 23 of the Constitution. And directed
the District Magistrates to effectively implement provisions of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition)
Act, 1976 and expected them to discharge their functions with empathy and sensitivity, since the Act
is a welfare legislation.

7
Supra note 26, para 8.
8
The Constitution of India, 1950, Art. 21.
9
1993 SCR (3) 930.
10
The Constitution of India, 1950, Art. 23, 24.