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Union of India - Section
Section 19 in The Plantations Labour Act, 1951
19.
/865Statement of Objects and Reasons.-Inspite of the fact that the plantation industry provides employment for more than a million workers, there is at present no comprehensive legislation regulating the conditions of labour in the industry. The Tea Districts Emigrant Labour Act, 1932, which applies only to Assam, regulates merely the conditions of recruitment of labour for employment in the tea gardens of Assam. The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923, which applies to estates growing cinchona, coffee, rubber or tea also does not confer any substantial benefit on plantation labour as accidents in plantations are few. The other Labour Acts, like the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, benefit plantation labour only to a very limited extent. In its report the Labour Investigation Committee observed "that as the conditions of life and employment on plantations were different from those in other industries, it would be very difficult to fit plantation labour in the general framework of the Industrial Labour Legislation without creating serious anomalies" and recommended a Plantation Labour Code covering all plantation areas.2. The present Bill, drafted as an all-India measure, seeks to regulate the conditions of plantation labour generally. It applies in the first instance to tea, coffee, rubber and cinchona plantations, but the State Government may apply it to any other plantation. Provision is made in the Bill for assuring to the worker reasonable amenities, as for example, the supply of wholesome drinking water or suitable medical and educational facilities or provision for canteens and creches in suitable cases, or provision for sufficient number of latrines and urinals separately for males and females. Housing accommodation is also to be provided for every worker and standards and specifications of such housing accommodation will be prescribed after due consultation. The Bill also regulates the working hours of workers employed in the plantations.3. Children under 12 are prohibited from employment in any plantation and State Governments are empowered to make rules regulating the payment of sickness or maternity benefits.4. Necessary provision is made in the Bill for the appointment of a suitable inspecting, medical or other staff for the purpose of securing the implementation of the various provisions in the Bill.Amendment Act 34 of 1960-Statement of Objects and Reasons.-The Plantations Labour Act, 1951, which provides for the welfare of labour and regulates the conditions of work in plantations has been in operation since the 1st April, 1954. The Act is applicable to gardens admeasuring twenty-five acres or more and whereon thirty or more persons are employed. Some employers are fragmenting their plantations into small units with a view to evading their liabilities under the Act. The amendments mentioned in the Bill are proposed to check fragmentation of plantations and to ensure more effective working of the Act.[2nd November, 1951]An Act to provide for the welfare of labour, and to regulate the conditions of work, in plantations.Be it enacted by Parliament as follows:-| 1. The Act has been extended to the Union Territory of Pondicherry by Regulation 7 of 1963.2. Brought into force on 1.4.1954. |