LABOUR Oxford Dictionary defines “Labour are those who are doing physical hard work for their lives”. National Sample Survey of India (NSSI) “Labour comprises of persons who are actively engaged in any productive work during the reference period of enumeration”.

IN GENERAL 1. A human effort 2. Any Physical activity 3. Any Valuable service rendered. 4. Any productive work.

HISTORY OF LABOUR According to Damodar Panda the historical evolution of labour India has been studied in two dimensions. They are Labour – Before Independence Labour – After Independence

Labour – Before Independence Under the British colonial regime in India land became a commodity, Mines were opened in the tribal and other areas for colonial industry and people were displaced in thousands from their livelihood. In this period labours were exploited in several ways, –Treated like a Slave –They Worked for food –Religious discrimination –Gender discrimination –Sexual abuse, etc.

After Independence By taking into consideration of the plight and hardships of labour the Indian government appointed the Royal Commission on Labour to improve the conditions of Indian labour in The Royal Commission on Labour dealt with numerous issues like,

MAJOR LABOUR ISSUES Employment of factory workers Working conditions Service Conditions Safety, health, welfare of labour Seasonal factories Un-regulated factories Workmen’s compensation, etc,

LABOUR ACTS IN INDIA After analyzed the above said issues related to the labor – the Royal Commission on Labor – highly recommended the government of India to enact the labor related acts for immediate solutions. Based on the recommendation of royal commission on labor – the government implemented the following acts

Acts related to labor in India –Minimum Wages Act – 1948 –Factories Act – 1948 –The Employees state Insurance Act, 1948 –The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 –The Personal Injuries (Compensation Insurance) Act, 1963 –The Mines Act, 1952 –The Plantation Labor Act, 1951 –The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966

Labour classification in india Agricultural Sector Cultivators Agricultural Labourers, Livestock, Forestry, fishing, etc Industrial Sector Mining and quarrying, Large and small industries, Construction.

Labour classification in india Service Sector Trade and commerce Transport,

I.L.O So many welfare measures and legislations are enacted to protect labour from such problems - violations - exploitations - discrimination But international labour organisation is not convinced the step taken by the concern government

ILC So they are decided to go for universal code for labour working in industry and other sectors to protect them from the problem. Labour code is nothing but the Standard of Regulation to regulate the labour in an universally accepted way.