INTERPRETATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF STANDING ORDERS

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This article is written by Kanika Arora of 4^th Semester of Delhi Metropolitan Education

Abstract

Industrial employment refers to a type of work that is common in the manufacturing sectors. It also reflects a conventional system of labor division in which employees labor in factories or workshops apart from the owners who oversee their operations. The majority of manufacturing employees fall under this category of employment, and occasionally even professionals since they previously worked as independent practitioners doing industrial or manual labor.

Keywords: Conventional System, Employment, Labour, Factories

Introduction

One recent development in Indian labor management is the idea of “Standing Orders.” Before 1946, there were erratic working conditions in which employees were hired on a case-by-case basis with ambiguous job descriptions. The Act was passed as a straightforward solution to address this issue by ensuring that the terms of employment in industrial establishments are uniform to reduce industrial disputes.

Employers are required under the Preamble to the Act “to define with sufficient precision the conditions of employment” and make such requirements clear to the workers.

The Act’s application

According to Section 1 of the Act, unless the appropriate Government makes an exception for any such industrial establishment employing fewer than 100 workers, all industrial establishments (within India) employing more than 100 workers at any given time or as noted on any day of the previous year are subject to its provisions.

Exclusion of some industrial facilities

Through several statutory provisions included in this Act, several industrial establishments have been exempted from its application:

The establishments covered by the Fundamental & Supplementary Rules, various Civil Services Rules, or any other rules issued by the “appropriate Government” are not included in Section 13-B.

Power to exempt: Section 14

Section 14 gives the competent Government the authority to conditionally or unconditionally exempt any industrial enterprise from being subject to all or any of the requirements of this Act.

Unique Characteristics of the Act

The following three significant features are included in the Act:

Standing orders as a concept;
the Certifying Officer’s ability to make decisions; and
the legal standing of CSOs (short for Certified Standing Orders).

Does a contract have the authority to supersede certified standing orders?

CSOs go beyond the bounds of a contract and cannot be considered to be a legislative concept or limited to their individualistic ideas. Therefore, standing orders that are implemented by statutory requirements may be regarded as a unique type of contract or “statutory contract.”

Standing Guidelines

According to Section 2(g) of the Act, “standing orders” are the regulations about the items listed in the Schedule, i.e.

the division of laborers;
how information concerning work and pay is communicated to employees;
attendance, the terms under which leaves are granted, etc.;
rights and obligations of the employer and employees in specific situations;
Conditions of “termination of” or “suspension from” employment; and Procedures for Worker Redress.

Draught Standing Orders Submission: Section 3

Every employer of an industrial facility with 100 or more employees is required to submit the Standing Orders to the Certifying Officer for certification under Section 3 of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946.

Draught Standing Orders Submission: Section 3

The Act requires the employer(s) to submit, individually or jointly, five copies of a “Draught Standing Order” (short for “Model Standing Orders”) within six months of its applicability to the industrial establishment. This “Draught Standing Order” must include all of the items listed in the Schedule and any MSOs, if any, and must have documents annexing information about the workers employed.

S.K. Sheshadri v. H.A.L. and others (1983)

In this case, the Hon’ble Karnataka High Court ruled that the Standing Orders would not be regarded as invalid or in violation of the Act so long as they are included in the Schedule of the Act, even though they contain additional provisions that are not covered by the MSOs. The Standing Orders are merely framed using the MSOs as a guide.

Hindustan Lever v. Workmen (1974)

In the current case, the problem of “transfer of workmen” was brought to light by agreeing that the Manager has the discretion to transfer workers among different divisions of the same business, provided that the employment contract conditions are not altered. The burden of showing the transfer’s invalidity falls on the workmen in question if it is determined that the transfer is legitimate.

Management of Continental Construction Ltd. v Workmen of Continental Construction, (2003)

In the present instance, the employer’s right to terminate the employment of a probationer was recognized by stating that, if a person is an employee on probation, it is an inherent power of the employer to terminate during/at the end of the probationary period, provided, that even while acting by the CSO, the employer’s action be fair and consistent with the principles of natural justice.

Standing Order Certification Requirements: Section 4

Section 4 of the Act lays forth the requirements that must be met before a standing order can be certified. This necessitates the creation of a standing order that covers all the topics listed in the Act’s Schedule and complies with its rules.

Abandonment of the Model Standing Orders

When viewed in conjunction with Section 3(2) of the Act, Section 4(b) mandates that the draught standing order be as close to the MSO as is reasonably possible. As a result, in circumstances where this cannot be claimed, the appropriate authority may permit deviation from the MSO and obviate the need to include such unworkable provisions in the Standing Order.

Many Sets of Standing Regulations

“Once the standing orders are certified, they become the terms of service that are binding on management and the employees serving now and in employment, as well as those who may be hired after certification.” This suggests that distinct groups of workers or employer(s) cannot have different sets of standing orders because doing so would defeat the legislative intent by making the terms of employment as ambiguous & diverse as they were before the said Act was passed.

Process for Certification: Section 5

According to Section 5 of the Act, there are three steps in the certification of a Standing Order:

A copy of the Draught Standing Order and a notice asking for objections are sent by the Certifying Officer to the workers or trade union, and those objections must be filed to him within 15 days of receiving the notice.
Following the employer and workers’ opportunity to be heard following the submission of such objections, the Certifying Officer shall decide and pass an order for the revision of the Standing Order.
Finally, the Certifying Officer shall certify such Standing Order and then provide a copy of it annexing his order for modification granted under Section 5(2) within seven days of certifying such Standing Order.

Arguments: Section 6

Any related party who feels wronged by the Certifying Officer’s judgment may file an appeal with the “appellate authority” within 30 days, but only if they agree with the Standing Order being confirmed or amended; in either case, their decision will be final. Following that, within seven days, the appellate body shall send copies of the Standing Order, as amended, to the involved parties.

Modification of Standing Order: Section 10

A CSO cannot be changed unless relevant parties agree to the change within six months of the last time it was changed or put into effect under Section 7. In addition, the parties may submit an application to the Certifying Officer for adjustments to the standing order, under Section 10(1) and other provisions of this Act, by annexing a certified copy of the agreement for revisions, or five copies of the proposal.

Subsistence Allowance Payment: Section 10-A

According to Section 10-A of the Act, the employer must pay a workman who is suspended while an investigation or inquiry into his misconduct is ongoing a subsistence allowance at a rate of 50% for the first 90 days and 75% for the remaining time if the delay was not the workman’s fault. In the event of a dispute involving such a subsistence allowance, the Act also permits an appeal to the Labour Court established under IDA-1947, whose decision shall be final. Additionally, it states that a State’s specific regulations shall take precedence over this Section if they are more advantageous.

Application of Model Standing Orders Temporarily: Section 12-A

According to Section 12-A, MSOs must be adopted with Sections 9, 13(2), and 13-A applying in the same manner as they would to a CSO throughout the time between the applicability of this Act and the CSO’s operation. Additionally, it states that if two categories of workers exist and a CSO is already in place for the daily-rated workers, the monthly-rated workers should adopt the MSO.

Penalties and procedures: Section 13

The Act declares a breach of Sections 3 or 10 of the Act by the employer to be a criminal offense and punishes Rs. 5000 plus an extra Rs. 200 per day for a persistent infringement. Additionally, if the CSO is violated, Rs will be punished. 100 plus an extra Rs. 25 per day for a persistent breach. No prosecution may be brought under this Section without the prior approval of the relevant Government, and once brought, it may only be tried by courts not lower than the Metropolitan/Judicial Magistrate of Second Class.

Standing Orders: Section 13-A Interpretation

The Labour Courts established for this purpose may be asked any matter about the implementation or interpretation of this Act; their decision will be final and binding on all parties.

Section 14-A: Powers Granted by Delegation

To an officer/subordinate authority of the Central or State Government, as the case may be, and subject to any instructions that may be issued under the notification, the appropriate Government may transfer its powers under the Act.

Making rules

Section 15 of the Act gives the competent Government the authority to establish regulations for the following purposes, after consulting with representatives of associated parties:

additional items that need to be on the Schedule and the process for modifications;
Identify MSOs;
the process that Certifying Officers and Appellate Authorities must follow;

The cost of copies of registered standing orders and any other items that are subject to the regulated fees.

As long as the rules established by the central government are approved or rejected by each House of Parliament without impairing the legality of their actions.

Conclusion

The Act is a statutory framework that formally defines the employment relationships between the employer and the workers/trade union. The idea of “standing orders,” which is amorphous in nature because it is a contract proclaimed statutorily and represents the intent of the parties so controlled, is one of this Act’s most notable initiatives. Finally, it should be noted that, despite giving an illustrative example, it necessitates significant modifications to the primary employer’s current employment practices to substantially achieve the Constitution’s goal of securing socio-economic fairness.

References