The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Second Order, 2020
The Central Government, via ordinance no S.O. 3465 (E) dated 5th October 2020, has passed an order known as The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Second Order, 2020. This order amends several acts to make them effective in J & K- UT, including:
i) The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996
ii) The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
iii) The Factories Act, 1948
iv) The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970
v) The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946
vi) The Trade Union Act, 1926
Below is a brief description of the changes brought by the order:
(a) Provisions relating to layoffs, retrenchment, and closure of certain establishments under Section 25K of The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, will now apply to industrial establishments where the number of workmen employed is not less than three hundred, instead of the existing provision of one hundred. The time limit for submission of an application to the Labour Court or Tribunal, in case of dismissal of an individual workman deemed to be an industrial dispute, has been reduced from three years to one year from the date of dismissal, retrenchment, discharge, or termination of service as per the Act's provisions.
(b) The threshold limit for applicability of the Factories Act, 1948, has now been increased from ten or more workers to twenty or more workers for factories operating with the aid of power, and from twenty or more workers to forty or more workers for factories operating without the aid of power. Additionally, the employer must obtain prior consent from women workers for working before 6 am and beyond 7 pm, subject to conditions relating to safety, holidays, working hours, or any other prescribed conditions.
(c) The applicability of The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, for establishments has been increased from twenty or more workmen to forty or more workmen. Please refer to the notification attached for more details.