Are Contract Workers Covered by the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946?

Question on Contract Workmen and the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946

Do contract workmen come under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946?

Contractual Relationships and Standing Orders

Legally, there is no contract between the principal employer and the contract labor individually, although there is a contract between the principal employer and the contractor. Therefore, the contract labor engaged through a contractor will not be governed by the orders of the Certified Standing Orders of the company for which they work.

To supplement Mr. Madhu's answer, let me put the legal position in a different way.

- To determine if a contract worker falls under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, we need to check the definition of "Workman" under the act.

- The definition of "Workman" in the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act is borrowed from Section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act.

- According to Section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act, a contract worker is not a "Workman" for the principal employer.

- Therefore, a contract worker of a principal employer is not covered by the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act.

- However, the contract worker may be considered a "Workman" for their employer (the contractor). Thereby the Standing Order Act would apply to him with the limit to his employment with his employer (the contractor).