| Short Title: | The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 |
| Long Title: | An Act to regulate the employment of inter-State migrant workmen and to provide for their conditions of service and for matters connected therewith. |
| Citation: | Act No. 30 of 1979 |
| Enacted By: | Parliament of India |
| Date Assented: | 11 June 1979 |
| Date Commenced: | 1 June 1987 |
| Repealed By: | Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 |
| Status: | repealed |
The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 was an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to regulate the condition of service of inter-state labourers in Indian labour law. The Act's purpose was to protect workers whose services are requisitioned outside their native states in India. Whenever an employer faces shortage of skills among the locally available workers, the act created provisions to employ better skilled workers available outside the state. The act was replaced by the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020
The employment system of interstate migrant labour was an exploitative system prevalent more or less all over India. It was rampantly institutionalized in Orissa and in some other states. In Orissa the migrant labour (called dadan labour locally) through contractors or agents (called Sardars / Khatedars) are sent for work outside the state in large construction projects. This system lends itself to various abuses. Sardar promising at the time of recruitment that wages would be calculated on piece rate basis would not be settled every month as promised. Once the worker came under clutches of the contractor he took him to a far off place on payment of railways fare only. No working hours were fixed for interstate migrant workers and they had to work on all the days in a week under extremely bad working conditions.
Twenty eighth State Labour Ministers conference held on 21-10-1976 recommended for setting up of a small compact committee to examine all issues and suggest measures for eliminating the abuses prevalent in the interstate workers deployment. The compact committee which was constituted in February 1977, recommended the enactment of a separate central legislation to regulate the employment of interstate migrant workers as it was felt the provisions of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970,[1] even after necessary amendments would not adequately take care of the variety of malpractices indulged in by the principal employers/contractors/Sardars/Khatedars etc. and the required facilities to be provided to these workmen in view of the peculiar circumstances in which they are working.
The recommendations of compact committee had been examined in consultation with the state governments and the relevant central ministries, Interstate Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979[2] was passed by both houses of Parliament and President of India gave his assent on 11-06-1979.
This Act makes provision for availing with the onsite services of interstate workers by the contractors / establishments to overcome only the temporary shortage of required skilled workers in a state. The purpose of this act is not to encourage interstate migration of workers against the interests of local workers as the principal employers would have to incur more cost in deploying interstate workers.
In addition to the general labour laws applicable to all workers, the interstate workers are entitled with
Registration of all contractors who employs or employed five or more Interstate Migrant Workmen on any day of the preceding 12 months.
As per the census of the year 1991, nearly 20 million people migrated to other states seeking livelihood. Within a decade, the number of interstate migrants doubled to 41,166,265 persons as per the census figures of 2001. It is estimated that there are at present around 80 million migrants of which, 40 million are in the construction industry, 20 million are domestic workers, 12 million working in illegal mines otherwise called “small scale quarries”, etc.[3] Since the stipulations of this act are not implemented in true spirit by the state governments, more and more interstate workers are deployed in miserable working conditions at wages far below the prevailing local wages.[4] The vested interest of labour departments in collusion with the principal employers /contractors is the main stumbling block to implement this act which is hurting the interests of the local workmen and the improvement in their living standards.[5]
The Interstate Migrant Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2011 is proposed to make this Act gender neutral by amending its title and replacing the word ‘workman and workmen’ by the words ‘worker and workers’ respectively.[6] However, the lawmakers have not thought of bringing additional provisions to implement this Act strictly with more accountability and punishments for violations.
More and more interstate workers deployment is bringing social and cultural tensions in the states which are created on linguistic basis. Interstate workers being under the hold of their employers are scared of associating with local workers in ameliorating their living standards and working conditions. Many times interstate workers are reluctant to learn speaking in local majority language and to understand the local customs. Some times in the guise of interstate workers, interstate thieves / robbers / dacoits commit theft, murders, etc. creating law and order problems.[7]