Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act,1946 The Labour Investigation Committee, in its Report, at p. 113 (1946) had observed "An industrial worker has the right to know the terms and conditions under which he is employed and the rules of discipline which he is expected to follow. Broadly speaking, in Indian Industry the rules of service are not definitely set out and like all unwritten laws, where they exist, they have been very elastic to suit the convenience of employers.

It was to ameliorate these evils that the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 was passed to require the employers in industrial establishment to define with sufficient precision the conditions of employment under them and to make the said conditions known to workmen employed by them.

Before this Act, there was no law to prevent the employer from having different contracts of employment with workmen that led to confusion and discriminatory treatment. Before this Act, victimisation and unfair labour practices were quite frequent. The industrial worker had no right to know the terms and conditions and rules of discipline of his employment.

ix) Industrial and any other establishments as mentioned u/s 2(ii) of Payment of Wages Act. 136., as defined in Clause (ii) of Section 2 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1963; Or a factory as defined in Clause (m) of Section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948 or; a railway as defined in Clause (4) of Section 2 of the. Indian Railways Act 1890; or the establishment of a person who, for the purpose of fulfilling a contract with the owner of any industrial establishment, employs workmen.

Exempted Establishment This Act shall not apply to an industrial establishment in so as far as the workmen employed therein are persons to whom: the fundamental and supplementary rules, civil services (classification, control and appeal) rules, civil services (temporary service) rules, revised leave rules, civil service regulations, civilians in defence services (classification, control and appeal) rules or the Indian Railways Establishment Code or any other rules or regulation that may be notified in this behalf by the appropriate Government in the Official Gazette, apply. (Section 13B).

The items which have to be covered by the standing orders b) Contents of the Schedule The matter referred to in the Schedule are: 1. Classification of workmen, e.g., whether permanent, temporary, apprentices, probationers, of badlis. 2. Manner of intimating to workmen periods and hours of work, holidays, paydays and wage rates. 3. Shift working. 4. Attendance and late coming.

5. Conditions of, procedure in applying for, and the authority which may grant, leave and holidays. 6. Requirement to enter premises by certain gates, and liability to search. 7. Closing and re-opening of sections of the industrial establishment, and temporary stoppages of work and the right and liabilities of the employer and workmen Arising therefrom. 8. Termination of employment, and the notice thereof to be given by employer and workmen. 9. Suspension or dismissal for misconduct, and act or omissions which constitute misconduct. 10. Means of redress for workmen against unfair treatment or wrongful exactions by the employer or his agents or servant. 11. Any other matter which may be prescribed.

CERTIFICATION PROCESS-ITS OPERATION A BINDING EFFECT Submission of Draft Standing Orders by Employers Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act requires every employer of an "industrial establishment" to submit draft standing orders, i.e., "rules relating to matters set out in the Schedule" proposed by him for adoption in his industrial establishment. Failure to do so is punishable and is further made a continuing offence. The draft standing orders must be accompanied by particulars of workmen employed in the, establishment as also the name of the trade union, if any, to which they belong. the group of employers owning those industrial establishments may submit a joint draft of standing orders.

PAYMENT OF SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE In 1982, a new Section 10-A was added to make a provision for subsistence allowance to suspended workmen which provides: 1) Where any workman is suspended by the employer pending investigation or inquiry into complaints or charges of misconduct against him, the employer

Shall pay to such workman subsistence allowance (a) At the rate of fifty per cent of the wages which the workman was entitled to immediately preceding the date of such suspension, for the first ninety days of suspension, and (b) At the rate of seventy-five per cent of such wages for the remaining period of suspension if the delay in the completion of disciplinary proceedings against such workman is not directly attributable to the conduct of such workman.

2) If any dispute arises regarding the subsistence allowance payable to a workman, the workman or the employer concerned may refer the dispute to the Labour Court and the Labour Court to which the dispute is so referred shall, after giving the parties an opportunity of being heard, decide the dispute and such decision shall be final and binding on the parties. 3) However where provisions relating to payment of subsistence allowance under any other law for the time being in force in any State are more beneficial than the provisions of this section, the provisions of such other law shall be applicable to the payment of subsistence in that State,