The Uttar Pradesh government announced on May 7 that all industries will be exempt from almost all Labour Laws for the next three years. The only labour laws that will apply, include, Building and Other Construction Workers Act, Section 5 of Payment of Wages Act, Workmen Compensation Act and Bonded Labour Act.

Share Market Live

NSE

The state government approved the ordinance exempting businesses from Labour Laws to review the economy and boost investments following the coronavirus outbreak.

A press note issued by the government said, “Horticultural and economical activities in the states have been severely affected and slowed down due to the outbreak of Covid-19. This is because businesses and economic activities came to a halt more or less due to the national lockdown.”

The statement added that the government had cleared the ‘Uttar Pradesh Temporary Exemption from Certain Labour Laws Ordinance, 2020’ to exempt factories, businesses, establishments and industries from the purview of all, but three labour laws and one provision of another Act for three years.

Provisions of laws pertaining to women and children, like the Maternity Act, Equal Remuneration Act, Child Labour Act and section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act which states that wages of a person earning less than Rs 15,000 a month cannot be deducted are also being retained, an IANS report says.

Other labour laws frozen include those related to settling industrial disputes, health and working conditions of workers and trade unions, contract workers and migrant workers.

The freezing of existing laws allows owners of factories more powers to hire and fire staff up to a certain limit without attracting punitive measures from the labour department.

RSS-affiliated labour union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has criticised the decision of BJP-ruled states MP, UP and Gujarat to suspend most labour laws in the state, stating that the move is against international principles of law and could set a precedent for other states.

The union has also called for an emergency meeting of its central office bearers and will likely stage protests soon.

Also read: The road to labour market anarchy passes through UP and MP

First Published:May 7, 2020 9:47 PM IST