Fixed-term jobs should be on par with permanent work: Government
2 min read 06 Jan 2021, 12:21 AM ISTThe Union labour ministry has proposed that fixed-term employment will be on a par with permanent work and salaries must be paid within seven days of a wage period, according to the new draft order for industrial establishments and mines
PremiumThe Union labour ministry has proposed that fixed-term employment will be on a par with permanent work and salaries must be paid within seven days of a wage period, according to the new draft order for industrial establishments and mines.
The move is aimed at institutionalizing the changing work culture in the country. While industries favour fixed-term employment, trade unions have been against it claiming that it goes against the concept of job security.
“Fixed-term employment means the engagement of a worker on the basis of a written contract of employment with the employer for a fixed period, provided that his hours of work, wages, allowances, and other benefits shall not be less than that of a permanent worker doing the same work or work of similar nature," the ministry said in the draft standing order.
“He or she shall be eligible for all statutory benefits available to a permanent worker proportionately according to the period of service rendered by him, even if his period of employment does not extend to the qualifying period of employment required in the statute," it added.
The draft order has inserted fixed-term employment as a category of employment but has removed “casual work" from the list.
Cessation of work at the end of the fixed term will not be considered as retrenchment.
The draft also proposes that salary payment will be more transparent and all remuneration will be paid within a maximum of seven days after completion of the wage period of a worker. “All workers will be paid wages on a working day before the expiry of the seventh day after the last day of the wage period in respect of which the wages are payable," the ministry said.
Delay in payment of remuneration has been a constant debate for decades and several industrial confrontations, including the recent one at iPhone manufacturer Wistron in Karnataka, was believed to have been linked to delay in payment to workers.
“Wage rates payable to all categories of workers shall be displayed on the electronic notice board or notice board and website or human resource portal of the industrial establishment, if any, in Hindi, English, and the local language the majority of workers in industrial establishment are conversant," the proposal said.
The proposed rules will, however, be applicable to all manufacturing and mining establishments with 300 or more workers as the Industrial Relations Code as passed by Parliament has increased the threshold from 100 to 300 for application of any standing order.
The draft order will be finalized and integrated with the Industrial Relations Code Act 2020 after receiving feedback from experts, academics, and others. The four labour codes passed by Parliament are yet to implemented as the details are being finalized at the levels of the Union labour ministry and the state governments.
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