|
||
|
|
|
| Document
available from: Hind
Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) |
CONTENTS
With the employment of over 1 million, the Plantation industry in India is among the largest private employers in India. It is spread across the States of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The Plantation workforce, however, has been among the most exploited workforce in the organised sector. Their wages are amongst the lowest when compared to other workers and working and living conditions most dismal. Most of the plantations are located in remote and 'isolated areas. Workers are mainly dependent on the Plantations as there is hardly any other employment avenue. Workers are illiterate and migrants with no awareness or information about their rights. The fact that plantation areas do not come under the purview of rural development and antipoverty programmes has also prevented conditions from im proving.
In 1951, the Parliament passed the Plantations Labour Act [PLA] which sought to provide for the welfare of labour and to regulate the conditions of workers in plantations. Under this law, the State Governments have been empowered to take all feasible steps to improve the lot of the plantation workers. The passing of PLA brought some improvements in the plantations sector. It also helped in creating conditions for organising the workers and the rise of trade unions. However, the potential benefits promised under the PLA remain unachieved mainly due to ignorance of workers about their rights under the law.
This folder on the Plantation Labour Act (PLA) has been brought out with a view to disseminate information on legal rights of the plantation workers under, the law. It is our hope that the trade union activists will find this handy reference tool in their work among the plantation workers. HMS gratefully acknowledges the support given by ILO in bringing this educational material out.
Umraomal Purohit,
(General Secretary, HMS)
The Plantations Labour Act, 1951 (PLA) applies to any land used or intended to be used for growing tea, coffee, rubber, cinchona or cardamom or any other plant which measures 5 hectares or more and in which 15 or more workers are employed on any day of the preceding 12 months.
The State Governments can be notification apply this law to any other land too even if it measures less than 5 hectares and employ less than 15 workers.
 |
Adolescent: a person between the age of fourteen and Eighteen |
|
Child: a person who has not completed his 14 th year |
|
Employer: the person who has the ultimate control over the affairs of the plantation and where the affairs of the plantation are entrusted to any other person, such other person shall be the employer in relation to that plantation. |
|
Family: means his or her spouse and the legitimate and adopted children of the worker dependent upon him or, who have not completed their eighteenth year, and includes, where the member is a male, his parents dependent upon him. |
|
Plantation: any plantation to which this Act applies and includes offices, hospitals, dispensaries, schools and any other premises used for any purposes connected with such plantation. |
|
Qualified medical practitioner: means a person holding a qualification granted by an authority specified under section 3 of the Indian Medical Degrees Act 1916 of under any provincial or State Medical Council Act. |
|
Wages: as defined under clause (h) of section 2 of the Minimum Wages Act 1948 (11 of 1948). |
|
Worker: means a person employed in a plantation for hire or reward, whether directly or through any agency, to do any work, skilled, unskilled, manual or clerical, having wages less than Rs. 750/- p.m., but does not include – medical officer, managerial staff and temporary workers employed in any work relating to construction, repair, maintenance of roads, bridge, etc. |
Section 3-B of the PLA, 1951 makes it compulsory for every employer of a plantation to register it within sixty days of its coming into existence.
Inspecting staff: Under Section'4, the state government has the power to appoint for the state a duly qualified person to be -the chief inspector of plantations and other persons to, be inspectors subordinate to the chief inspector.
Certifying surgeons. [Section 7]: The state government is responsible for appointing qualified medical practitioners to be certifying surgeons for within local limits of a plantation or class of plantations.
Duty of the certifying surgeon:
Drinking Water: In every plantation effective arrangements shall be made by the employer to provide and maintain at convenient place a sufficient -supply of wholesome drinking water for all workers [Section 8].
Conservancy: There shall be a sufficient number of conveniently situated & accessible separate latrines and urinals for males and females in every plantation. All of these are to be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition [section g].
Medical facilities: Medical facilities for workers and their families (as prescribed by the state government) have to be maintained and made available by the Employer [Section 10].
In the absence of such prescribed medical facilities, the Chief Inspector can arrange for provision- and maintenance of medical facilities and recover the costs of these from the defaulting employer. [Actual Recovery of such costs will be done by the Collector as arrear of Land Revenue on Chief Inspectors' certification].
Canteens: Under Section 11, the State Government has been empowered to ask Employers to open Canteen(s) in Plantations employing one hundred and fifty workers or more and to make rules for the working and maintenance of canteens.
There is also a provision for the constitution of a managing committee in which the workers are represented.
Creches: The employer must provide and maintain suitable rooms for children where the number of workers is more than fifty or the number of children of women workers is twenty or more [Section 12].
Creches are to be maintained in a clean, safe and sanitary conditions and are to be run by a woman trained n the care of children and infants as per the law.
Recreational facilities: every employer to make provision in the Plantation for recreational facilities for the workers and their children [Section 13].
Educational facilities: In every Plantation where the children- of the workers between the ages of six and twelve exceed the number twenty five, the employer is under obligation to provide educational facilities as may be specified by the State Government [Section 14].
Housing facilities: It is the duty of the employer to provide and maintain necessary housing accommodation for every worker and his family [Section 15].
Every worker (including his family) is entitled to a housing accommodation after six months of continuous service whether staying inside or outside a plantation and who has expressed a desire in writing to live in the plantation. The requirement of continuous service of six months will not apply to a worker who is the member of the family of a diseased worker who was residing in the plantation. Under Section 16, the-State Government has been empowered to make rules relating to standards of housing and constitution of an advisory board with representatives of workers and employers.
Liability of employer in case of accidents resulting from collapse of houses provided by him: If the house collapse is not solely or directly attributable to a fault on the part of the occupant or to a natural calamity, the employer shall be liable to pay compensation to the worker or his kin suffering injury or death. In order to claim this compensation, the worker or his next of kin or his authorised agent must write to Labour Commissioner within 6 months of the accident. The compensation would be paid under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923.
Other facilities: The State Government has the power to make rules requiring the plantation employer to provide the workers and umbrellas, blankets, rain coats or other like amenities for the protection of workers from rain or cold [Section 17].
Welfare Officers: In plantations that empl0y three hundred workers or more, the employer has to employ welfare officers as prescribed [Section 18].
[In Kerala, in case the employer does not employ Welfare Officer (s) to provide the facilities under the PLA, 1951, the Chief Inspector of the Plantations has the power to appoint such officers or cause such other facilities to be provided and recover the costs thereof from the Employer.]
Weekly hours: forty-eight hours a week for Adult workers and twenty seven hours a week for adolescent or child workers [Section 19].
Maximum hours of work are 9 hours a day and 54 hours a week; The worker is entitled to overtime wages at twice the rates of ordinary wages. He/she also has a right to One weekly holiday. Working on a holiday or the day of rest of the worker will entitle worker for double the wages as in overtime work.
Daily intervals for rest: No worker shall work for more than five hours before he/she had an interval for rest for at least half an hour. In addition, a woman resuming her work after delivery is entitled to two breaks daily for nursing her child till the child is fifteen months old. This is in addition to the regular rest interval.
The notice of period of work has to be displayed and correctly maintained in every plantation. An employer can refuse to employ a worker for any day on which he is more than half hour late from the time displayed on notice of period of work [Section 23].
No Night for women and children: Women and children can be employed only between the hours of 6am and 7pm unless permitted by the State Government [Section 25].
Non-adult workers to carry tokens: No child or adolescent will be allowed to work in the plantation unless the employer has a certificate of fitness from the Certifying Surgeon. The token that non adult worker is required to carry bears a reference to this fitness certificate valid for twelve months. The fee for the fitness certificate, if any, is to be paid by the employer and cannot be recovered from the young worker or his/ her guardian [Section 26 & 27).
Annual leave with wages: An adult worker is entitled to one day paid, leave for every twenty days of work. A Child or adolescent is entitled to one day paid leave for every fifteen days. Half or more than half day's work is counted as full days' work. This earned leave excludes. holidays. The worker is entitled to average daily wages (including D.A., cash value of food and other concessions, if any allowed to him by the employer). Maximum earned leave that can be encashed is 30 days. If the Employer terminates the services of the worker who has to his credit earned leave, then he shall pay the worker the average daily wages in respect of the leave not taken [ Section 30-31].
Sickness and maternity benefits: Every worker is entitled to sickness allowance, provided this is certified by a qualified medical practitioner. Women workers are entitled to maternity allowance and benefits under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 [Section 32].
Notice of Accidents: The Employers are under obligation to maintain a register of accidents and notify the authorities of any accident where a plantation Worker suffers death or body injury and he is unable to report for work for forty eight hours or more [Section 32].
Under the Plantation Labour Act, the penalty imposed for violation of the provisions is a fine of Rs.500 and/or 3 months imprisonment. Subsequent / Continued violation of PLA is punishable by a Fine of Rs. 1000P and/or imprisonment of Six months.
Cognizance of offence: Neither the worker nor the Union has a right to file a complain and launch legal proceedings against the Plantation owners. This right is given to the Chief Inspector only on whose complaint the Magistrate of the second class shall try the offence punishable under this Act.
Amendments demanded by HMS in the Plantations Labour Act:
 |
Back to
Top