Seeking Successful Contract Labor Models: How Can We Create a Win-Win for Employers, Contractors, and Workers?

Contract Labor in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities

As you know, the contract labor phenomenon has emerged in the 21st century worldwide as a means to cut costs at the expense of the manpower involved. In India, the plight of millions of these workers in the organized sector, working in work/job/manpower contracts, is overlooked by management, government, and even the media in the name of competitiveness and equality of opportunity. More so, due to the technicalities involved and lack of knowledge on various policies, laws on labor, and court orders, nobody wants to address this ticklish issue.

Labor is a necessity for running all organizations, and contract labor has become a headache for management, exploitation for workers, and anguish for the contractor who is juxtaposed between the two.

I am an alumnus of MDI, Gurgaon, and currently an in-service PhD student at the Centre for the Study of Law & Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. I have been working with the government for about 14 years and have now joined the Centre to undertake research on "Contract Labor Issues."

I am in search of contract labor models that are running successfully in an organization which you feel is a win-win scenario for all three stakeholders—the principal employer, the contractor, and the workers—that can be studied and duplicated.

Please guide and suggest.

My PhD research proposal is attached if somebody feels inclined to look at my research interest. Emails are also welcome at my ID.

Regards,
Pankaj Kumar
In-service PhD student
Centre for the Study of Law & Governance
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Mobile: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons], [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]
Email: [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Sorry, I could not go through your document. But, "Contract Labour has become a headache for the management, exploitation for the workers, and anguish for the contractor who is juxtaposed between the two." So, what do you mean by this statement? What kind of management is that which considers it a headache? How does it result in the exploitation of workers and anguish for anybody, for that matter?

I think this is more of a classroom discussion. If you do some fieldwork on the issues I have raised, you may consider that you have got 50% of what you need.

However, I may only tell you that you must strictly draw a line between opinions and reality when you deal with the issues raised above. Differentiate between facts, illustrations, and real situations. To do this, you need to look at the decrees or judgments of the courts pertaining to the same.

Thirdly, you should bifurcate the words into two parts: one as the contract, the legal contract itself, and the second being labor with the consideration of a contract. This will help you find out the legal obligations and failures in completing the contract, which in turn will help you understand the main reasons for the failure to complete a contract, hence assisting you in comparing it with the labor situations and organizational environment, including policies, etc., all contributing to its failure.

Lastly, you should also consider the employee as a person and personnel, and a company's level in its finance, reputation, field, etc.

Prepare the questionnaire with possibilities to research upon as a rough draft to get clear, specific ideas.

Resolving issues takes quite a long time. Once you gather the information, you may come back for discussions with all enthusiasm.

I wish you the very best of luck.

Thanks for your response, especially your suggestion for fieldwork for real exposure. In fact, I need to get into the field, especially in the private sector where I have little experience. Can you suggest an organization you feel would be ideal for my study, where you think the Contract Labour functioning has been good?

Issues and Problems in Contract Labour Functioning

I have been reading on this issue for a long time and have found numerous literature worldwide on the exploitation of contract workers. I am attaching a few of them for your information. I have also been discussing this issue and had the opportunity to research in Kolkata, Delhi, and Rudrapur (Uttarakhand). Besides, my own experience in dealing with contract labour management as a government servant during my postings in five different states of India has given me some insight into contract labour functioning.

In fact, what I feel is that the system of contract labour fails to create a sense of belonging among the workers for the organization they are working for, as they are considered the workers of the contractor rather than those of the principal employer. The system is thus oriented towards production (cutting costs, improving efficiency) rather than being pro-workers.

Still, there may be organizations where the contract labour system may be working well. I am seeking guidance from members on the same. Please guide and educate me on best practices/good models in this area.

I myself am planning to visit NHPC, Unchahar, UP, to study contract labour working there as suggested by the Central Regional Labour Commissioner, Lucknow, as a good model.

Thanks,

Pankaj Kumar

N.B.: For my study, contract laborers/workers are unskilled/semi-skilled workers who can easily be replaced/exchanged.

Challenges of Contract Labor in the Industrial Sector

Contract labor fails to create a feeling of belonging among workers for the organization, especially in the industrial sector, particularly in factories. It would be prejudicial for the study to choose a specific sector without first bifurcating the sector, gathering enough details, and then selecting a specific one to delve into further if interested.

Approach to Research in the Manufacturing Sector

The manufacturing sector offers more compared to other sectors. Simply schedule appointments with companies for interviews and seek permission to conduct fieldwork, focusing on companies with a higher number of employees. This process may take 2 or 3 months, during which time you can begin writing the body of your project. You will need a formal letter from the university to contact the organizations.

Reach out to the companies by phone to make appointments and request permission. The choice of companies will be entirely up to you, and there are companies near Delhi.

Judicial Precedents and Resources

Regarding the attached documents, there have already been many judicial precedents that have covered the issues extensively.

If anyone on Cite has experience conducting research on this specific matter, I would appreciate hearing about it. I suggest visiting Lawyersclubindia - Law, Lawyers, Advocates, Law Firms, Legal Help, Legal Experts, Judgments, Social Network for Lawyers, Legal Community, Law Help, Indian Lawyers, a platform for legal discussions. Wishing you all the best.

Have a nice time.

Dear BSSV, Thanks again for your response. I will definitely keep a watch on the manufacturing section. I have become a member of Lawyersclubindia - Law, Lawyers, Advocates, Law Firms, Legal Help, Legal Experts, Judgements, Social Network for Lawyers, Legal Community, Law Help, Indian Lawyers as you suggested; it is a good repository of legal documents.

Meanwhile, can anybody guide me to an organization that one feels is ideal or exemplary for contract labor functioning? Also, please suggest how I can approach the organization for my study purpose. My study may lead to paper publication, highlighting the good work done by the organization.

Regards,
Pankaj Kumar

My suggestion is to better select a large CPSU. The aim of the Contract Labour Act is to "regulate and abolish." Therefore, the concern of a student of this subject must be with regard to the system of regulation being practiced and the system of abolition the principal employer is adopting, vis-a-vis the Government notifications concerning that company.

Regards,
R. Krishna Murthy

Dear All,

Please confirm if there are any limitations on the percentage of contract workers compared to company employees in an organization. We understand that on any given day, the number of contract workers cannot exceed the limit specified in the license, which is 50% of the total factory licensed workforce. However, can the number of contract workers exceed the number of regular employees working in an organization on any given day?

Thank you,
Ambuj

Dear Ambuj,

As far as I know, there is no limit whatsoever in India. For example, the Delhi Metro has a majority of workers on contract. I know many companies have a predominant workforce on contract. In the license, the contractor simply has to state the number of contract workers they wish to engage (based on form-V given by the principal employers).

Yes, in China, as per recent instructions, a limit has been set on the percentage of contract workers to be engaged.

Best,
Pankaj