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The Uttar Pradesh cabinet approved a proposal empowering state government to suspend certain provisions of UP Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and UP Factories Act, 1948, thereby making way for necessary amendments.
This comes barely a month after Union Labour Ministry assured a Parliamentary Standing Commiattee on Labour that it would not allow attempts made by some state governments to suspend key labour laws for three years or more or bring in sweeping changes, including extension of work time to beyond eight hours a day.
In May this year, the government had cleared UP Temporary Exemption from Certain Labour Laws Ordinance, 2020 to exempt all establishments, factories and businesses from the purview of all but three labour laws and one provision of an Act, for three years. This was done to exempt factories and other manufacturing units’ application of certain labour laws for three years and revive economic activity which had plummeted due to pandemic-induced lockdown.
Labour department sources said since UP Industrial Disputes Act was a state act, it would come into force once it was passed by both Houses of UP legislature and also get assent from both the Governor and the President, while Factories Act would need to go back to the Centre.
Besides UP, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh had also announced sweeping changes in labour laws to provide relief to the industry reeling under lockdown. But the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour had asked state governments to desist from making sweeping changes in laws.
Earlier, the state government had planned sweeping changes in most labour laws, but it was shot down by the Centre due to opposition from International Labour Organisation (ILO) and trade unions.
It may be mentioned that the state government was initially forced to retract its order on 12-hour per day work hours after a PIL was filed in Allahabad High Court against the ordinance.