Navigating Employee Management and Legalities for Scattered Telecom Towers in West Bengal

Respected All,

I need some expert comments with notes and references if possible. I am working with a company that outsources manpower to telecom towers in West Bengal. (One tower is far away from another one). On each tower, there are manpower engaged in the name of Security (normally two persons for each Tower).

As the tower is a sensitive issue for the network, we can't afford any outage in the network, even for a single minute.

Queries Regarding Employee Treatment and Management

Now, my queries are as follows:

1) How will these employees be treated under which Act (Shop and Establishment Act / Factory Act / other acts as towers are scattered)?

2) One of our Principal employers says we can't give you Form-5 as there are not 5 or more persons in a single premises working for them. Please clarify.

3) These security persons are very adamant and never do their duty as towers are nearby their home/village. We are staying at the office, and it is very much impossible for us to appoint one supervisor for every guard, and one supervisor can't visit each tower daily. How should we handle the situation?

4) Security personnel are neither aware of updating their ESIC card, and they always claim they are not getting the facility of ESIC without any proof and never provide us with Family Photo or details. What should be done in this regard?

Please advise. I would ask for a favor to mention references if possible.

Regards

In my considered view, neither the Factories Act nor the Shop & Establishment Act applies. However, please check whether the WB Government has issued any notification under the Shop & Establishment Act, including Tower as an Establishment under the Act.

One of your principal employers is refusing to issue Form V, even though they are availing your manpower. Since more than 20 laborers are deployed within the jurisdiction of a Labor Officer, action can be taken against you for being a contractor without a valid license. The consequences could be disastrous for both you and the principal employer.

A possible solution for evading duty could be to post them away from their village, conduct surprise visits every now and then, take drastic action if found absent from the workplace, and implement some technological solutions to verify their presence at the spot, such as asking for MMS clips at regular intervals.

Regarding the ESI issue, please issue formal letters to the erring staff to generate records of the defaulters.

Regards,
KK

I appreciate your reply. According to my friend, these scattered telecom towers fall under the Contract Labour Act, not the Factory Act or the Shop and Establishment Act.

I am referencing a few lines from your message: "One of your principal employers is refusing to issue Form V, even though they are utilizing your workforce. As over 20 laborers are deployed within the Labor Officer's jurisdiction, action can be taken against you for operating as a contractor without a valid license. The repercussions could be severe for both you and the principal employer."

My concern is that they are ignoring my emails and not providing Form V. Additionally, they are now verbally threatening to award the contract to another party.

I am curious about the potential severe consequences for both myself and the principal employer. Could you please elaborate on this?

Thank you and best regards.

Regards