IT industry exempted from Industrial Employment Act

To ease the doing of business, the Haryana Government has exempted the IT industry from the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, for a period of five years, subject to certain conditions.

The Act makes it obligatory for employers of an industrial establishment where 100 or more workers are employed to clearly define the conditions of employment, by way of standing orders/service rules, and to make them known to the workers. In Haryana, the Act applies to an industrial establishment where 50 or more workmen are employed or were employed in the preceding 12 months. The standing orders include information on the classification of workers (whether permanent or temporary), intimation of the period and hours of work, wage rates, shift working, attendance, procedures for applying for leave and means of redress for workmen against unfair treatment or wrongful exactions.

As per a notification issued on November 20 by Principal Secretary, Labour Department, Rajeev Ranjan, the exemption from the Act has been given under Section 14.

Besides the IT industry, this exemption will be applicable on start-ups or industries related to animation, gaming, computer graphics, telecom and also Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs)/ Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPOs) or other knowledge-based industries.

The conditions imposed for exemption included that they shall constitute an internal committee as per the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, and also shall constitute a grievance redressal committee (GRC) consisting of equal number of persons representing employer and employees, to address any complaint/ grievances of any of the employee. They are also required to provide information about the cases of disciplinary action like suspension, discharge, termination, demotion, dismissal, etc., of its employees to the jurisdictional Deputy Labour Commissioner and Labour Commissioner, Haryana.

The notification dated November 20 clarified that, if the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, is implemented, it will apply to all.

The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, requires the employer to prepare a draft standing order that he proposes to adopt and submit it to the Certifying Officers (Joint Labour Commissioners) for certification. The employer is required to act in conformity with the certified standing orders in dealing with the day-to-day affairs of the workers. Certified standing orders have the force of the law like any other enactment. However, the IT industry is now exempted from it.