Dear friends,
The Contract Labor ( Regulation & Abolition )Act,1970, as its short title suggests, is an Act to regulate the working conditions of the contract labor so as to prevent their exploitation by the contractors as well as principal employers and abolish the practice only wherever contract labor are engaged in activities of perennial nature. If we read the provisions of section 10 of the Act, prohibition of contract labor in any process, operation or other work in any establishment is an exercise to be taken by the Appropriate Government after considering the relevant factors mentioned in ss(2) of S.10 only. Similarly, if we analyze the exemption granted u/s 1(5) of the Act to establishments in which only works of intermittent or casual nature is performed, if such works are performed through contract labor beyond the number of days stipulated under the explanation to the above section, automatically the Act becomes applicable. Even in such a situation, prohibition becomes operative only when it is so notified by the App. Govt u/s 10. Till such time, all the provisions relating to regulation including the registration of the principal employer as well as the licensing of the contractors would be applicable to such establishments. Therefore, there is no element of automatic prohibition of engagement of contract labor in core ( the term is not defined in the Principal Act) or perennial process, operation or work in any establishment.
However, the State of Andhra Pradesh has amended S.2 of the Principal Act by inserting a new subsection (dd) and defined the term core activity as any activity for which the establishment is set up and included any activity which is essential or necessary to the core activity while excluding 12 specific activities. Likewise, the A.P Govt has amended S.10(1) by substitution of a sub section by enabling the principal employer to engage contract labor or a contractor to any core activity subject to the conditions (a)the normal functioning of the establishments is such that the activity is ordinarily done through contractors OR (b)the activities are such that they do not require full time workers for the major portion of the working hours in a day or longer periods (c) any sudden increase of volume of work in the core activity which needs to be accomplished in a specified time. But this amendment, as you are aware, is applicable only to the State of Andhra Pradesh.