CONTINUOUS INTERNAL ASSESSMENT

SUBJECT:

LABOUR LAW- I

HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, RAIPUR

TOPIC:

PAIGHAM MOVIE: A PRISM OF LABOUR LAW

SUBMITTED BY:
VAIBHAV MISHRA
IV-A

ROLL NO.: 97

SUBMITTED TO: PROF. (Dr.) ATUL JAYABHAYE

I. UNVEILING THE PLOT OF THE “PAIGHAM MOVIE”

Paigham is a blockbuster message-oriented drama film in the Hindi language. The film for the first time
starred actors like Raaj Kumar and Dilip Kumar in the same film. It was produced by Nagi Reddy and
directed by S.S. Vasan. The plot of the movie can be traced to a family of a widowed lady with a daughter
Sheela, and two sons, Ram and Ratan. The elder brother Ram works in a mill and Ratan is an engineer.
However, Ratan later starts working in the mill as an engineer. While working in a mill, he witnesses that
workers are being deprived of their wages, and management is indifferent towards the work and safety
conditions of work. Due to these issues, workers also go on strike. Ratan establishes a union to represent
issues of workers to management. This approach is opposed by his elder brother who is loyal to the mill
owner. The story also has a romantic angle to it portraying the love story of the mill owner’s daughters
Manju and Ratan. It is in this context, the movie unfolds thereby highlighting the various problems faced by
labourers, strained relations between management and workers, etc.

II. LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO LABOUR LAW

The ‘Paigham’ movie is a semi-socialist cinematic piece with a didactic tone. The movie is framed around
the setting of a mill highlighting the strained relations of the employer and employee thereby having a nexus
with the prevalent legal issues related to labour and their conditions during that time. Therefore, key legal
issues in the realm of labor laws highlighted in the plot are as follows:

1) Worker’s Right to Fair Wages

The right to fair wages forms an essential tenet of labor laws. In the movie, Ratan, an engineer, takes note of
the pity situation of laborers who are deprived of their fair wages thereby highlighting the violation of basic
legal rights of this realm by the employer that propelled him to form a union to address the issues.

2) Work & Safety Conditions

The work and safety conditions of laborers include protective equipment, safety professionals, safety exits,
equipment to deal with emergencies, etc. It also has an important role in labor’s health. Ratan’s observation
of the pitiful situation concerning work and safety conditions and the indifference of the employer on the
issue highlighted the failure on the part of the employer to perform his legal duty.

3) Collective Bargaining & Role of Union

The situation of laborers in the movie made Ratan form a union to represent the issue with the employer.
The right to form an association is guaranteed under Article 19 of the Indian constitution. Furthermore, the
right to form a union is a legal right within the realm of labor laws and plays a crucial role in negotiating i.e.
collective bargaining with the management.

4) Worker’s Right to Strike

The Mill owner in the movie was indifferent toward the situation of the worker. Hence, workers also
resorted to strike. The concept implies stopping the work as a collective action to catch the attention of the
management toward the situation of the employees. Furthermore, the concept of the strike is recognized in
the legal framework of the labor laws. It is also guaranteed under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution.

ANALYSIS OF THE RELEVANT LEGAL PROVISIONS/STATUTES

1) LAWS GOVERNING SAFETY CONDITIONS AT WORKPLACE

I. FACTORY ACT, 1948

The act was promulgated in the year 1948 to devise safety measures and promote the welfare of the workers
employed at the factories. It also created a check on the hazardous growth of the factories by overall
checking before establishing the factory.

It applies to the whole of India. Furthermore, all manufacturing units come within the purview of the
definition of the industry. It has 120 sections and 3 schedules.

The provision includes maintaining the temperature at the workplace, keeping the environment clean,
avoiding overcrowding, adequate arrangements for storing clothes, hygiene, and sanitation.

II. LABOUR CODE ON OSHWC, 2020

The code dealing with occupational safety, health, and working conditions was one of the four codes passed
by the government in the year 2020. It consolidates 13 different laws that deal with this issue. It covers
issues like maintaining operations at a high-risk workplace, displacement allowance, age of employees,
work hours, leaves, etc. It also has provisions of punishment in case of non-compliance. Hence, it creates an
effective framework and simplifies the law to address the issue of the safety of a worker.

2) LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF RIGHT TO FORM TRADE UNION

Indian constitution guarantees freedom to form associations or unions under article 19(1)(c). It is a
guaranteed to citizens as a fundamental right. However, it is subject to reasonable restrictions mentioned in
the provision.

II. TRADE UNION ACT 1926

Trade unions play a crucial role in representing the worker in front of management and also in collective
bargaining. It is one of the important laws governing the issue. It deals with the registration and
establishment of trade unions and also governs the registered trade unions. It envisages a trade union as an
instrument to regulate relations between the employee and employer and includes a federation of two or
more trade unions.

III. IDA, 1947

The trade union plays an important role in the collective bargaining. The act makes it a legally binding
settlement arrived through this process. The act recognizes the role of trade unions in the settlement and
investigation of disputes.

3) LAWS GOVERNING RIGHT TO FAIR WAGES OF WORKER

MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948

Labor law and economic policies are complementary to each other. To ensure the well-being of the worker
and provide him with social security, Parliament has enacted the above legislation. The act creates a
mechanism that ensures that workers get a minimum level of remuneration. From manufacturing to
agriculture, the act has been instrumental in building equitable pay structures across the sectors.

CODE ON WAGES, 2019

It is a new code that subsumes in itself existing laws dealing with ensuring fair wages to workers. It provides
the statutory right to receive bare minimum wages and also ensures its timely payment. Furthermore, the act
has adopted a uniform definition of ‘wages’ to avoid any multiple interpretations and litigation.

4) LAWS DEALING WITH RIGHT TO STRIKE

The Indian constitution doesn’t recognize the right to strike as a fundamental right but has been a statutory
right recognized under the Industrial Disputes Act, of 1947. The strikes, as evident in the movie, are the
result of working conditions, issues of wages, etc. The Act has defined strikes and contains provisions to
regulate the strikes by workers.

LABOUR LAWS IN INDIA: A CROSS COMPARISON OF OLD REGIME V

The enactment of the new labour codes subsumed into four codes are illustrative of the important milestone
achieved by the country in carrying out crucial reforms concerning outdated labour laws that were in force
before the enactment of these codes. The codes are aimed at bringing transparency, rationalizing, and
simplifying laws in this landscape.

Here are the new changes introduced in the four codes thereby distinguishing them from the old laws:

a) Code on Industrial Relations, 2020

It subsumes three legislations viz, Trade Unions Act, 1926, IEA, 1946, and Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. It
has introduced key changes as compared to old laws like changes in the grievance redressal committee’s
threshold to 10 members, and the applicability of standing orders to establishments with 300 or more
workers are some of the changes. These illustrate a greater push towards increasing the scope of the
legislation and creating representative and comprehensive dispute resolution mechanisms.

b) Code on wages, 2019

It was formed by amalgamating the four key acts that dealt with the right of fair wages of workers. It
includes the Minimum Wages Act, and the Equal Remuneration Act, of 1976. The changes include
extending applicability to all employees and establishments, increasing the scope of applicability criteria,
inculcating standardized definitions, and new provisions dealing with mode, time, etc. The code has also
mainstreamed the payment timelines and settlement norms as compared with earlier laws.

c) Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions, 2020

The code incorporates 13 labour legislations like the Factory Act, 1958, Mines Act, 1971, etc. It introduces
common licenses for reducing the burden of compliance. Furthermore, it has as witnessed in other codes,
increased the applicability criterion and standardized norms to be followed by the employer to address the
issue.
 d) Code on Social Security, 2020

It is formed with the help of nine legislations. Examples include the Employees Provident Fund, 1952,
Employees State Insurance Act, 1948, etc. The scope as stated has increased and various schemes have been
made voluntary on the part of workers like the EPF scheme.

CONCLUSIONS

The ‘Paigham’ movie has aptly highlighted the issues plaguing this sector. Indian laws are insufficient in
their scope and enforcement to deal with dynamic problems. The problems like workers in unorganized
sectors outside the social safety nets, lack of female participation in the workforce, plight of migrant
laborers, depression of wages, lack of data regarding workers, etc. remain after the enactment of the new
codes. India needs to follow International best practices to deal with these problems. The measures like
transparency in the supply chains, data-driven decision-making, research & analysis, digitization of data, etc.
accompanied by a commitment to upholding international standards and constitutional rights could help us
to have an effective legal framework to address the issue of workers.