Industrial Disputes Act [Thread 482510]

Please, can anyone let me know if professional skills of employees such as advocates, doctors, chartered accountants, and other professionals are covered under the Industrial Disputes Act 1947?

They are not covered under the ID Act. However, a hospital is classified as an industry under it. There has been a recent decision that an Architectural firm falls under the category of a shop for the ESI Act.

Varghese Mathew.

Hello, Mr. Kartik.

Provisions of the ID Act are applicable to all employees who fall under the definition of "Workman" as per the ID Act. Therefore, Doctors, Advocates, and CAs shall not be classified as workmen, whereas Accountants, Pharmacists/paramedical staff, Legal Inspectors, etc., shall be considered workmen. In general, Executives are not considered workmen, while Non-executives, including Supervisors, are classified as workmen.

AK Jain

Sorry to differ from the views of M/S Vargheese and Arun. The essential condition of a person being a workman within the terms of the definition under Section 2(s) of the ID Act, 1947 is that he should be employed to do the work in that industry and that there should be an employment of him by the employer involving the relationship of employer and employee. Where the relationship of employer and employee in an industry is established, the person employed is deemed to be a workman unless found specifically excluded. Of the four exclusions mentioned in the definition, the last two are relevant to the present discussion; they are managers or administrators irrespective of the amount of their wages or salaries and those supervisors with wages exceeding Rs1600/= p.m or exercise functions of mainly managerial nature in terms of the nature of their duties or by reason of powers. Here, the emphasis is on the capacity of jobs assigned to them and not on the mere nomenclature or designation of the job.

The Supreme Court has ruled in S.K.Verma v. Mahesh Chandra [AIR 1984 S.C 1462] that the entire labor force, irrespective of the nature and duties of the post, falls within the definition of the word 'workman' and only the managerial force and the supervisory force to the extent excepted in the definition stand excluded from the definition. The decision of the Supreme Court in Burma Shell's case [1970 (2) LLJ. 590] is to be applied to ascertain whether a person employed in a particular job would be a workman or not. If we analyze the cases of professionally qualified persons such as Doctors, C.As, Lawyers and the like employed in an industry in the light of the above and such other Judicial decisions, we would be able to determine whether they are workmen or not. For this, the following observation of the Supreme Court in Arkal Govindaraj Rao v. CIBA Geigy of India Ltd., Bombay [1985 LIC 1008] would be helpful: "... The test that one must employ in such a case is what was the primary, basic or dominant nature of duties for which the person whose status under enquiry was employed. A few extra duties would hardly be relevant to determine his status. The words like managerial or supervisory have to be understood in their proper connotation and their mere use should not detract from the truth."

Following the above decisions and Ved Prakash Gopta v. Dalton Cable India (P) Ltd. (1984 LIC. 658) the High Court held that the duties of the Asst. Medical Officer employed by the Railway to treat the patients who are employees of the Railways and their families are technical and that any supervisory functions such doctor may exercise are incidental to the discharge of his duties as a Medical Attendant of the Railway employees and their families [Dr. Surendra Kumar Shukla v. Union of India and others - 1986 LIC. 1516]

Whether paramedical staff are classified under the category of workmen as per the Industrial Disputes Act.

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In general, paramedical staff may be considered as workmen under the Industrial Disputes Act, depending on the specific roles and responsibilities assigned to them within an organization. It is essential to review the job descriptions and duties of paramedical staff to determine their classification accurately. The classification of paramedical staff as workmen can have implications on various aspects, including their employment rights, benefits, and legal protections. It is advisable to seek guidance from legal professionals or HR experts to ensure compliance with relevant labor laws and regulations.

Yes, paramedical staff such as nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians, radiographers, etc., are employed solely to support and supplement medical work.