Page 84 - DMGT516_LABOUR_LEGISLATIONS

Unit 4: Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1986

Objective of the Act Notes

The objective of the Act is to regulate the employment of contract labour in certain establishments
and to provide for its abolition in certain circumstances.

Scope and Application of the Act

As the title itself indicates, the Act does not provide for the total abolition of contract labour,
but only for its abolition in certain circumstances, and for the regulation of the employment of
contract labour in certain establishments. Apart from abolishing contract labour in certain cases,
the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act also regulates the working conditions of
contract labourers.
The Act applies to (a) every establishment wherein 20 or more workmen are employed or were
employed on any day in preceding 12 months as contract labour [Section 1(4) (a)] and (b) every
contractor, who employs or employed 20 or more workmen on any day of the preceding 12
months. [Section 1(4)(6)]. Under the Act, the appropriate Government is empowered to extend
the application of the Act to any establishment or contractor employing less than 20 workmen
after giving two month’s notice. [Provision to Section 1(4)]. The Act is, however, not applicable to
establishments of intermittent or casual nature. [Section 1(5)]. The Act is also applicable where the
dispute relates to service conditions of the workman engaged in the factory canteen maintained
by the company.

Registration of Establishment

Employing Contract Labour

The Act empowers the appropriate Governments to appoint registering officers with whom
every principal employer, or an establishment to which this Act applies, has registered the
establishment in the prescribed manner.
Under Section (7), every principal employer of an establishment to which this Act applies shall,

within the prescribed period, make an application to the registering officer in the prescribed
manner for registration of the establishment. However, the registering officer may entertain any

such application for registration after the expiry of the period fixed in this behalf, if he is satisfi ed

that the applicant was prevented by sufficient cause from making the application in time. If the

application for registration is complete in all respects, the registering officer shall register the
establishment and issue to the principal employer of the establishment a certificate of registration

containing the prescribed particulars.
1 Revocation of Registration: Where the registration of any establishment has been obtained
by misrepresentation or suppression of any material fact, or that for any other reason,
the registration has become useless or ineffective and, therefore, requires to be revoked,
the registering officer may, after giving an opportunity to the principal employer of the

establishment to be heard and with the previous approval of the appropriate Government,
revoke the registration.
2 Effect of non-registration: Section 9 spells out the effect of non-registration. It provides that
no principal employer of an establishment, to which this Act applies, can employ contract
labour, if:
(a) he has not obtained the certificate of registration; or

(b) a certificate has been revoked after being issued.

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