LABOR LAW IN INDIA

The following description is taken from the U.S. State Department's report on Indian economic policy: 

8. Worker Rights

a. The Right of Association: India's Constitution gives workers the right of association. Workers may form and join trade unions of their choice; work actions are protected by law. Unions represent roughly 2 percent of the total workforce, and about 25 percent of industrial and service workers in the organized sector.

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively: Indian law recognizes the right to organize and bargain collectively. Procedural mechanisms exist to adjudicate labor disputes that cannot be resolved through collective bargaining. State and local authorities occasionally use their power to declare strikes "illegal" and force adjudication.

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor: Forced labor is prohibited by the constitution; a 1976 law specifically prohibits the formerly common practice of "bonded labor." Despite implementation of the 1976 law, bonded labor continues in many rural areas. Efforts to eradicate the practice are complicated by extreme poverty and jurisdictional disputes between the central and state governments; legislation is a central government function, while enforcement is the responsibility of the states.

d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children: Poor social and economic conditions and lack of compulsory education make child labor a major problem in India. The government's 1991 census estimated that 11.3 million Indian children from ages 5 to 15 are working. Non-governmental organizations estimate that there may be more than 55 million child laborers. A 1986 law bans employment of children under age 14 in hazardous occupations and strictly regulates child employment in other fields. Nevertheless, hundreds of thousands of children are employed in the glass, pottery, carpet and fireworks industries, among others. Resource constraints and the sheer magnitude of the problem limit ability to enforce child-labor legislation.

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work: India has a maximum eight-hour workday and 48-hour workweek. This maximum is generally, observed by employers in the formal sector. Occupational safety and health measures vary widely from state to state and among industries, as does the minimum wage.

f. Rights in Sectors with U.S. Investment: U.S. investment exists largely in manufacturing and service sectors where organized labor is predominant and working conditions are well above the average for India. U.S. investors generally offer better than prevailing wages, benefits and work conditions. Intense government and press scrutiny of all foreign activities ensures that any violation of acceptable standards under the five worker-rights criteria mentioned above would receive immediate attention.