CHAPTER XVII
Other Social Services
Social
services signify such activities of the State and individuals as are undertaken
to correct social disequilibrium among persons, classes or groups of persons.
The scope of such activities has been continually widening. Progressive modern
States have for their ultimate objective the general well-being of the
community. The State also renders many specialized services in the various
spheres, e.g. education, public-health and housing. The modern welfare State
is, thus, built on a strong framework of social services. The successive
Five-Year Plans have also provided fairly wide opportunities and scope for the
further improvement and expansion of social services.
(a)
Labour Welfare
Labour Welfare assumes vast
importance in a State which is passing through rapid industrialization and
consequent urbanization. It implies such services, facilities and amenities as
may be established in, or in the vicinity of, undertakings to enable the
persons employed in them to perform their work in healthy and congenial
surroundings, and provide them with amenities, conducive to good health and
sound morals. Welfare activities may also include anything done for the
intellectual, physical, moral and economic betterment of the workers by the
employers, by the Government or by other beneficent agencies, as laid down by
law. Thus, labour welfare includes housing, medical and educational facilities,
nutrition, facilities for rest and recreation, co-operative societies, day
nurseries and creches, the provision of healthy accommodation, holidays with
pay, social insurance measures, etc., undertaken voluntarily by the employers.
Labour
welfare may, thus, be broadly classified into three categories : statutory,
voluntary and mutual. Statutory welfare constitutes the provision of welfare
facilities which depend on the coercive power of the Government. Under
voluntary welfare come the activities undertaken by the employers for the
workers. Mutual welfare is a co-operative enterprise of workers to improve
their lot in a suitable manner.
Before
the independence (1947), there was hardly any systematic and regular
governmental organization for the prevention and settlement of industrial
disputes, for the welfare of industrial workers and for dealing with other
labour problems in the State. A separate Labour Department to look after labour
welfare was established in the State as late as 1949. In the district, there
are two Labour-cum-Conciliation Officers posted at Amritsar. The
Labour-cum-Conciliation Officer, 1st Circle, Amritsar, is assisted by 1 labour
Inspector and 2 Shop Inspectors, whereas the Labour-cum-Conciliation Officer,
2nd Circle, Amritsar, is assisted by 2 Labour Inspectors and 1 Shop Inspector.
The Labour-cum-Conciliation Officers deal with the administration and disputes
under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Ths Shop Inspectors, although under
the immediate control of their respective Labour-cum-Conciliation Officers,
function under the Chief Inspector of Shops and Commercial
Establishments-cum-Labour Officer (Headquarters), Chandigarh. They are
responsible for the administration of the Punjab Shops and Commercial
Establishments Act, 1958, the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, and the Payment of
Wages, Act, 1936.
The Fctories Act, 1948,
is administered by two Factory Inspectors posted at Amritsar. The Labour Inspectors
and the Labour-cum-Conciliation Officers act as Inspectors of Factories.
Besides, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health, Amritsar, also functions
as Additional Inspector of Factories for enforcing the health and sanitary
provisions contained in the Act.
The
Labour-cum-Conciliation Officers are Conciliation Officers for the district
under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. They initiate conciliation proceedings
for the settlement of industrial disputes and try to settle disputes by
mediation through joint discussion. If they fail, the matter is referred,
through the Government, to the Labour Court, Jullundur, or the Industrial
Tribunal, Punjab, Chandigarh. Appointed under Section 7-A of the Industrial
Disputes Act, 1947, the Industrial Tribunal, Punjab, Chandigarh, plays a very
important role in the redress of grievances of the industrial workers in the
State. The Presiding Officer of the Industrial Tribunal frequently visits
Amritsar/Chheharta/Verka for the adjudication of industrial disputes relating
to any matter specified in schedules II and III of the Act.
Labour Legislation
Industrialization
creates a number of social and economic problems, e.g., the employment of women
and children, the minimum wages, trade unions, the provision of adequate
accommodation and the removal of deplorable working conditions in the
factories. Labour laws are, therefore, enacted to facilitate their solutions,
as ordinary civil laws are inadequate to meet them. The State has adopted a
progressive policy, and is keeping pace with the labour policy of the
Governmemt of India and is observing the standards laid down by the
International Labour Organizaiton. This policy has produced a plethora of
legislation and their administration. These laws also deal with the regulation
of industrial relations between the management and the workers. Under the
Constitution of India, labour is a concurrent subject and both the Parliament
and the State Legislatures are empowered to make labour laws.
The salient features of
the Central and Stte Labour Acts in force in the district are as follows. The
Facotories Act, 1948, provides for the health, safety and welfare of the
workers. The Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958, regulates
the conditions of work and terms of employment of the workers engaged in shops,
commercial establishments, theatres, restaurent, etc. The Maternity Benefit
Act, 1961, provides for the grant of cash benefits to women workers for
specified periods before and after confinement. The Employment of Children Act,
1938, prohibits the employment of childern below the age of 15 years in certain
risky and unhealthy occupations. The Payment of Wages Act, 1936, regulates the
timely payment of wages without any unauthorized deductions by he employers. The
Minimum Wages Act, 1948, ensures the fixation and revision of the minimum rates
of wages in respect of certain scheduled industries involving hard labour. The
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, provides for the investigation, and settlement
of industrial disputes through mediation, conciliation, adjudication and
arbitration. There is scope for the payment of compensation in case of layoff
and retrenchment under the Act. The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders)
Act, 1946, requires the industrial establishments to define precisely the
conditions of employment under them and make them known to the workmen. These
rules, once certified, are binding on the parties for a minimum period of six
months. The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923, provides for compensation to
injured workers of certain categories and, in case of fatal accidents, to their
dependents, if the accidents arose from, and, in the course of, their
employment. It also provides for the payment of compensation in case of certain
occupational diseases. The Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926, recognizes the right
of workers to organize themselves into trade unions, and, when registered, to
have certain rights and obligations and function as autonomous bodies. The
Employer's State Insurance Act, 1948, provides for sickness, maternity,
disablement and medical benefit. The Employees' Provident Fund Act, 1952, seeks
to make provision for the future of an industrial worker after he retires or is
retrenched, or for his dependents in case of his early death. The Punjab
Industrial Housing Act, 1956, provides for the administation, allotment,
realization of rent, etc., in regard to quarters constructed under the
subsidized Industrial Housing Scheme.
The labour welfare, thus, covers a
wide range of activities and, in its present from, is generally recognized and
regarded as an essential part of the industrial system and management. The
labour laws in the State are administered by the Labour Department, heded by
the Labour Commissioner, Punjab, Chandigarh. The Employees' State Insurance
Act, 1948, and the Employees' Provident Fund Act, 1952, are, however, operated
under the direction of the Employees' State Insurance Corporation, Chandigarh,
and the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, Punjab, Chandigarh, respectively.
The Labour Commissioner is assisted by the Chief Inspector of Factories at the
State headquarters, and by the Labour-cum-Conciliation Officer, Factory
Inspectors and Labour Inspectors ad other staff at the district level.
According to the 1961
Census, the number of workers in the Amritsar District was 4,58,000, forming
29.8 per cent of the total population of the district. In 1968, the average
number of workers employed in the registered working factories in the district
was 1,023 and, covered under the various labour laws, it was 22,255.
Industrial
Relations.-The relations between the employees and the employers are
governed by the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947, and the machinery provided
thereunder is twofold-first, the prevention of disputes by providing internal
machinery in the form of Works Committees and Welfare Officers, and, second,
the provision of a permanent Conciliation Officer, Conciliation Board, Court of
Inquiry and Industrial Tribunal. The Labour-cum-Conciliation Officers are
responsible for enforcing the providions of the Act. They are required to
foster good relations between the employers and the employees by removing, as
far as possible, the causes of friction and by the timely redress of the
grievances of the parties.
Even though the functions
of the Labour-cum-Conciliation Officers are mediatory, with no power to give
any orders or awards, they have been successful in bringing about a large
number of agreements between the parties. The relations between the employees
and the employers are normally peaceful, but sometimes these become strained
and strikes or lock-outs take place.
The following table
gives particulars regarding the industrial disputes in the Amritsar District
unde the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, from 1966 to 1969 :
Nuber of industrial disputes in the
Amritsar District, 1966-69
Year Number Number Number
of Number of
of of stikes workers man-days
disputes and
lock- involved in lost
outs strikes
1966 759 5
2,701 6,374
1967 766 15 6,937 1,82,459
1968 370 3 3,433
10,322
1969
380
1 267 935
(Source : Labour Commissioner, Punjab, Chandigarh;
and Labour-cum-Conciliation Officer, Amritsar)
Works Committees
Under the Industrial
Disputes Act, 1947, the factoties or industrial establishents employing more
than 100 persons are required to constitute a Works Committee for securing and
preserving amity and good relations between the employers and the workers. A
works committee consists of the representatives of employers and workers
engaged in a particular industry so that the number of the representtives of
workmen in the committee shall not be less than that of the representatives of
the employers.
Trade
Unions.-Trade unions are voluntary organizations of workers formed to promote
and protect their interests through collective action. As the trade unions are
the most suitable organizations for adjusting relations between the employers
and the emplyees, they have acquired and important place in the economic,
political and sockal life of the community.
In the post-independence
period, the trade union moement in the district has gained considerable
momentum and there has been a constant increase in the number of registered
trade unions. The particulars of the trade unions, registered under the Indian
Trade Unions Act, 1926, functioning in the district are given in Appendix on
page 544.
The
Indian Factories Act, 1948.-All the factories Acts, passed during the
period 1934 to 1947, were repealed and a new consolidated legislation, called
the Indian Factories Act, 1948, was enacted. It incorporates several provisions
for the welfare of labour, including the provision regarding the conditions of
work inside the factories. The number of factories registered under the
Factories Act, 1948, in the district in 1970 was 750. The enforce the
provisions of the Act and look after the general welfare of the employees,
Labour Welfare Officers have been employed by five factories, viz. O.C.M. India
(P) Ltd., Chheharta; Indian Woollen Textile Mills, Chheharta; Rayon and Silk
Mills (P) Ltd., Amritsar; Punjab Woollens, Chheharta; and Punjab Woollen
Textiles, Amritsar.
Employees'
Provident Fund Scheme.-The wages of industrial workers are not adequate
enough to enable them to effect any substantial savings. When old age or
illness renders them unfit for earning, they are forced to lead a life of
abject poverty and misery. In the event of a worker's premature death, his
dependents are left without any means of subsistence. In order to save the old
and destitute workers from starvation deaths, there must be some provision to
help them in difficulty. This purpose is served by the provident fund. The
Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, framed by the Government of India under the
Employees' Provident Fund Act, 1952, and enforced on November 1, 1952, attempts
to remedy this unhappy situation.
In the Amritsar
District, by March 31, 1968, 299 factories/establishments, with an employment
strength of 21,512 workers, were covered under the Act. Of these, 18,429 workers
contributed to the scheme.
The provident fund is
deducted at the rate of 6¼ per cent of the monthly wages from the employees'
wages and salary, and an equal amount is contributed by the employers. The entire
amount is deposited in the State Bank of India in the employers' provident fund
accounts. The fund vests in a tripartite Central Board of Trustees, having
nominees of the Central and State Governments and employers' and employees'
representatives. The Central Provident Fund Commission at New Delhi is the
Chief Executive Officer. The Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, Chandigarh,
executes the scheme in the Punjab.
Provision has been made
under the Act to grant advances to the members for the payment of premium on
their life insurance policies, for the purchase of dwelling-sites or houses,
for the construction of houses, for meeting the expenses in case of serious
illness, etc.
To afford timely
financial assistance to the nominees/heirs of the deceased members, the Death
Relief Fund was set up in 1964. A Minimum of Rs 500 is assured by way of
relief. A non-refundable advance is also granted in case of an employee’s
retrenchment in order to mitigate the immediate hardship caused by such an
eventuality.
Employees’s
State Insurance Scheme.—The scheme was introduced into the Punjab in 1953
in pursuance of the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948. It is designed to
provide security for the industrial workers against sickness, maternity, and
employment injury in the form of cash benefits, viz. sickness, benefit,
disability benefit, dependents’ benefit and maternity benefit, providing
medical care under all contingencies. The Employees’ State Insurance Amendment
Act, 1966, introduced Funeral Benefit under which an amount not exceeding Rs
100 is paid to the claimants towards the expenditure on the funeral of an
insured person. The scheme is compulsory wherever applicable. The workers
drawing Rs 500 or less per mensem, working in the factories employing 20 or
more persons and using power, are covered under the Employee’s State Insurance
Act, 1948. The scheme, however, does not apply to the mines under the operation
of the Mines Act, 1952, a Railway Running Shed and the Seasonal Factories, as
defined in the Act.
The
following contribution is made by the employers and the employees :
(1)
The contribution made by the employers and the employees
is payable by the principal employer each week in respect of the whole or part
of wages which are payable to the employees and not otherwise. The rates of
contribution (by both employers and employees) are indicated in the schedule I
o the employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948. The employers’ share of
contribution is about 4.6 per cent of the workers’ wages. However, in view of
the transitional provisions contained in Chapter V-A of the Employees’ State
Insurance Act, 1948, in lieu of employers’ contribution, as indicated in
schedule I of the Act, the employers’ special contribution is collected as
follows :
Till
the enforcement of the scheme, an employer is to pay a special contribution at
the rate of 3.4 per cent of the total wage bill. From the day the benefit
provisions of the Act are extended to any station, the employers’ special
contribution is payable at the rate of 3 per cent of the total wage bill. This
rate became effective from April 1 1968.
(2)
An
employee is to contribute at the rate mentioned in schedule I of the Act from
the day the scheme is extended to that area. It comes to about 2.3 per cent of
his wages.
The scheme functions under the
Employees’ State Insurance Corporation which has its headquarters at New Delhi.
It is under the administrative control of the Director-General, Employees’
State Insurance Corporation, New Delhi. The scheme is executed in the State
through the Regional Director, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation,
Chandigarh, who inspects factories, collects contributions and arranges the
payment of cash benefits.
The
provision of medical benefit is the statutory responsibility of the State
Government and facilities are to be given according to the standards laid down
by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation. Most of the expenditure on
medical care is contributed by the Corporation, and only 1/8
of the total expenditure is borne by the State Government. The
expenditure on other cash benefits is to be met entirely out of the Employees’
State Insurance Fund and is arranged by the Regional Director. The medical
benefit is given under the panel system. A 125-bed E.S.I. hospital is functioning
at Amritsar for the treatment of the insured persons covered under the scheme.
To begin with, the Employees’ State
Insurance Scheme was introduced in Amritsar. Verka and Chheharta on May 17, 1953.
Thereafter, the scheme was extended to Khasa on May 10, 1959. The scheme does
not cover any other station in the Amritsar District. By March 31, 1969, there
were 21,300 insured persons covered under the scheme in the district.
Subsidized Industrial Housing Scheme
Housing is unquestionably one of the
vital problems in case of industrial workers. The Government of India have,
therefore, been making sustained efforts to encourage and assist the
industrialists to construct houses for their workers. The scheme formulated in
1946 and 1949 for this purpose did not, however, prove satisfactory. It was,
therefore, decided to offer financial assistance on more liberal terms to the
State Governments, to the employers and workers for the construction of residential
houses. In pursuance of the recommendations made in the First Five-Year Plan
1951-56, the Subsidized Industrial Housing Scheme was introduced in September
1952, and certain modifications were made in it in 1953.
Under the subsidized Housing Scheme,
there are three types of tenements for the purpose of subsides and loans. Those
put up by the State Governments or statutory bodies, such as the Improvement
Trusts; those put up by the industrial employers for the use of labours in
their employ; and those put up by the co-operative housing societies of the
workers. The State Government has built 300 tenements for the benefit of the
industrial workers at Amritsar. Besides, loans and grants are also advanced to
private employers, who let out the tenements to their workers at subsidized to
private employers who let out the tenements to their workers at subsidized
rates.
Labour welfare centres
These Labour Welfare Centres, two at
Amritsar and one at Chheharta, are functioning under the Labour Commissioner,
Punjab, Chandigarh. These centres were opened in 1953, 1956 and 1960
respectively. They provide educational as well as recreational facilities for
the industrial workers and their families. The female members of the workers
are imparted training in tailoring and embroidery. Indoor and outdoor games are
organized at these centres for the workers and a radio-set and musical
instruments are provided for recreation. There is a library and a reading-room
for the use of workers. Cultural and variety programmes are also organized
occasionally at these centres for the entertainment of the workers.
(b)
Prohibition
Like other districts of the State,
Amritsar is also not a dry area. In 1967-68, there were 59 country-liquor vends
and 11 foreign-liquor vends in the district. There is a distillery at Khasa.
The
consumption of exciseable article in the district, during 1963-64 to 1967-68,
is given below :—
Year Country Indian- Foreign Beer Opium Bhang
liquor made spirit liquor
foreign
spirit
(proof (proof (proof (bulk (kg) (kg)
litres) litres) litres) litres)
1964-65 4,76,391 29,523 975 69,107 1 —
1965-66 3,89,542 30,546 560 26,436 1 —
1966-67 5,52,061 66,654 1,478 1,21,066 1 —
1967-68 8,16,620 63,229 1,483 1,22,389 1 —
(Source
: Excise and Taxation Officer, Amritsar)
The Excise and Taxation Officer,
Amritsar, assisted by 11 Excise Inspectors, administers the excise and Opium
Acts in the district. The number of cases registered under these Acts, during
the period 1963-64 to 196-68, is given below :—
Year Number of cases detected
Excise
Act Opium Act Total
1963-64 3,149 1,017 4,166
1964-65 3,605 1,184 4,789
1965-66 3,791 958 4,749
1966-67 2,968 810 3,778
1967-68 2,335 1,046 3,381
(Source : Excise and Taxation Officer,
Amritsar)
(c)
Advancement of Backward Classes and
Tribes
The caste-system served a useful
purposes when it was originally devised. In the early stages, it permitted
considerably inter-caste mobility and served as a useful measure for the
division of labour according to the talents and aptitudes of the individuals
and groups. Thus, the caste-system, originally conceived as a practical method
of securing the division of labour with the object of obtaining the maximum of
social efficiency and responsibility with the minimum of social friction, has
hardened during he centuries into a rigid mould which hampered national
progress. The caste-system raised strong walls of mutual exclusiveness. Some
castes began to look down upon others instead of realizing that all were
equally essential for the healthy growth of society and national economy. In
this way, nearly a fifth of the population of India came to be regarded as
belonging to the lowest rung of the social ladder. Even among these, there were
further sub-divisions and many millions all over he country were treated as
untouchable and outcastes.
Before
1950, the classification of Scheduled Castes and Tribes was governed by the
Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1936, and the Thirteenth Schedule
of the Government of India (Provincial Legislative Assemblies) Order, 1936. The
tribes, thus classified, were termed Backward Classes. Whereas the Thirteenth
Schedule to the Government of India (Provincial Legislative Assemblies) Order,
1936, did not specify any area as Scheduled Areas, the Constitution (Scheduled
Tribes) Order, 1950, indicated in the Schedule appended to the Order certain
specified areas, and the listed tribes which could be regarded as Scheduled
Tribes, if they lived in these Scheduled Areas.
Apart from the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes, the State Government also prepared a provincial list of
Backward Classes. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, residing outside
the areas specified in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950,
respectively, were deemed to be Backward Classes for the purposes of provincial
lists. There are no Scheduled Tribes in the Punjab.
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