Page 231 - DCOM207_LABOUR_LAWS

Labour Laws

Notes Any contribution due under the Act and not paid can be recovered through the District Collector
under Section 45B of the Act as arrears of land revenue. The employer can raise any dispute for
adjudication in the Employees’ Insurance Court of the area, set up under Section 74 of the Act.
Under Regulation 31A, the employer is liable to pay interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum
for each day of default or delay in the payment of his contribution. In addition, under Section
85-B of the Act, the Corporation is empowered to recover damages from the employer who fails
to pay the contribution or delays payment. The amount of damages, however, cannot exceed the
amount of contribution. The damages can also be recovered as arrears of land revenue.

Self Assessment

State whether the following statements are true or false:
19. The Act does not provide for penalties and damages for various offences.

20. The employer can raise any dispute for adjudication in the Employees’ Insurance Court of
the area, set up under Section 76 of the Act.
21. Under Regulation 31A, the employer is liable to pay interest at the rate of 6 per cent per
annum for each day of default or delay in the payment of his contribution.

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Case Study The Role of ESIC in Universal Health Care

edical care is widely regarded as the foremost concern of a social security
system since health is important to all age groups and all categories of people.
MAll comprehensive social security programmes therefore make provision for
medical care. It is one of the benefits to be provided on a universal basis under the Social
Protection Floor programme envisaged by the ILO.
Improvement in the health status of the population by providing access to health care
and facilitating utilisation of health, family welfare, and nutrition services with special
focus on the underserved has been the main thrust of social development programs in
the country. The responsibility of building infrastructure and manpower rests with the
State governments, supported by funds from the Central Government. Major disease
control programmes and family welfare programmes are funded by the Centre (some
with assistance from external agencies) and are implemented through the infrastructure
provided by the States.

There are a variety of arrangements available for providing healthcare to people in India.
They consist, from the point of view of financing, of social assistance programmes, social
insurance schemes including the Employees State Insurance Scheme (ESIS) and Rashtriya
Swasthya Bima Yojana, health insurance schemes introduced by State governments, and
health insurance schemes run by insurance companies in the public as well as private
sector. As far as the actual provision of healthcare services is concerned, there are
hospitals and dispensaries being run by Central and State Governments, including the
Central Government Health Service Scheme, the Railways Health Service Scheme, Defence
Services Health Service Scheme, the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), as well
as hospitals and dispensaries being run by private and voluntary agencies.
Yet coverage of all these arrangements is limited and there is a wide gap between demand
and supply for these services. In order to bridge this gap, the Approach to the Twelfth
Plan approved by the Government envisages the introduction of a Universal Health
Care Scheme. The Planning Commission High level Expert Group on Universal Health
Contd...

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