Contract Labour Act Dilemma: Can Contractors Hire Across Regions with Different Labor Officers?

Contract Labour Act and Regional Employment

Under the Contract Labour Act, is it possible for a contractor to employ workers in different regions where all regions fall under a single principal employer but have different labor officers? These regions could be located in different places, and they may or may not be in the same district.

Yes, it is possible in my considered opinion. As per the definition of the term "appropriate Government" under Section 2(a) of the Contract Labor (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, an establishment in relation to which the Central Government is the appropriate Government as per the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 will have the Central Government as its appropriate Government. In any other case, the State Government applies.

If the regions you mentioned spread across a single state, the contractor should obtain separate licenses from the State Government licensing officers in whose territorial jurisdictions the particular regions fall. In case the regions are situated in more than one state, the procedure remains the same but the registering officer and the licensing officers should be of the Central Government as the appropriate Government in this case would be the Central Government.

A contractor can deploy anywhere in India, provided they have a valid labor license in any state and their own PF and ESI codes. Then, they should apply for contractor labor licenses in each state where they are deploying employees on their rolls.

For further inquiries, please feel free to contact the undersigned.

Regards,
S. Rao
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]