Women, Social

Movements and Change UNIT 16 WOMEN AND LABOUR LAWS

Contents
16.0 Aims and Purpose
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Labour Situation of Women in India
16.3 Labour Laws in India
16.3.1 Labour Protection for Women In the Indian Constitution
16.4 Women and Labour Laws
16.4.1 Labour Laws Applicable to Organized Sector
16.4.2 Labour Laws Applicable to Unorganized Sector
16.5 Labour Welfare Schemes
16.6 Institutional Mechanisms to Facilitate the Implementation of Legal
Safeguards
16.7 Legal Safeguards: Issues and Challenges for Women’s Labour
16.8 The Road Ahead
16.9 Concluding Remarks
16.10 Clarification of the Terms Used
16.11 Some Useful Readings

16.0 AIMS AND PURPOSE

This is the last unit of the Block VI on Women, Crime and Law. There are several
legislative measures in our country to protect women labour from unwarrented
exploitation and gender discrimination. The primary objective of this unit is to
analyse women’s status vis-à-vis the labour laws that exist in our country. After
reading this Unit, you will be able to understand:
• Labour situation of women in India;
• Developments in the area of women and labour laws;
• Problems, issues and challenges underlying women’s labour; and
• Ways and methods for overcoming the problem areas.

16.1 INTRODUCTION
Despite the euphoria on women’s empowerment in the contemporary Indian
society, the position of women in the labour market remains below average.
Although the census reports over the last one-century shows a gradual increase
in the rate of female labour force participation, the conditions under which
they work still are largely exploitative. There are constitutional safeguards and
other legal measures to protect the interests of women workers in our country.
The unit will explain these provisions as well as further developments in this
area in terms of amendments to the legislations and other welfare measures.
The unit will also analyze the problems plaguing the position of women with
regard to country’s labour laws. It will also briefly examine the issues and
challenges for women’s labour and the role of state and civil society in their
upliftment and improving their labour situation.

16.2 LABOUR SITUATION OF WOMEN IN INDIA

Article 23 of the United Nations (UN) Declaration of Human Rights says that
everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, and to just and
favourable employment. It lays down that everyone, without any discrimination
has the right to equal pay for equal work. The International labour standards
48
speak of universal and lasting peace that can be established only if it is based on State and Civil Soceity's
social justice. Any contribution to an environment, which respects the smart use Response to Women's
Movements
of labour and adopts humane conditions of work, would help develop the national
human resource. The condition of labour in India has to be examined against this
backdrop, as its labour laws have also been influenced by important Human Rights,
as well as the Conventions and Standards that have emerged from the UN and the
International Labour Organisation.
India’s Labour Policy is mainly centred on various labour laws. The most
revolutionary document with regard to labour welfare is the Constitution. The
Preamble to the Indian Constitution speaks of “securing to all citizens equality of
status and opportunity as well as justice – social, economic and political”. The
Constitution specifically prohibits the State from discrimination against women
on the ground of sex in areas such as education and public welfare. It directs the
State to take special care to promote women’s welfare.
The Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution (provisions that are not
enforceable in a court of law but bind the State to apply them in making laws)
enshrined in Articles 39, 41, 42, 43, 43-A are the basic pillars for formulating the
labour policy for workers. Article 39(d) in the Directive Principles of State Policy
envisages “equal pay should be given to men and women doing equal work”.
Article 42 makes provision for securing just and humane conditions for work and
maternity relief (Raizada 1996).
Do you know? 1
Labour Law Enforcement Agencies in India
The responsibility for enforcement of labour laws rests on a range of
authorities. These include: labour commissioners, inspectors under various
laws, certifying surgeons, registering and licensing officers who fall under
the Contract Labour (Prevention and Regulation) Act, workmen’s
compensation commissioner, labour courts, national tribunal and industrial
tribunals. The inspectors and commissioners appointed under the different
labour laws have been specially given powers to take care of the welfare
of labour, ensure safety standards, protect the health of workers, build a
database of information on the workforce, warrant the payment of wages
and compensation, as well as initiate prosecution in case of non-compliance
with labour provisions.
The labour situation in India varies greatly depending on class, caste, gender,
location, sector of employment etc. This is true in the case of women’s labour
too. With regard to women’s labour there are many regional, caste, class and
community variations in the resource position and autonomy of women. Regional
economies, differentiated on the basis of agrarian and industrial regimes, indicate
differing labour demand and supply conditions. The extent to which women are
affected by the intensification and extension of the market for commodities and
labour is influenced by these variations. Let us now turn our attention to the
position of women’s labour in India.
The position of women’s labour in India is changing constantly, but it still cannot
be regarded as stable or satisfactory. There are many issues and challenges facing
it, which need to be addressed. We will examine them later in this unit. It is
important to mention over here that the Work Participation Rate (WPR) in the
organized and unorganized sectors has increased in general. However, it continues
to be substantially less for females than for males.
The WPR is defined as the percentage of total workers to the total population. It
was 39.3 per cent as per the 2001 Census as against 37.5 per cent as per 1991
Census. While the WPR for male workers has increased a little from 51.6 per cent
to 51.9 per cent, the WPR in case of women workers has shown a substantial
increase. It has gone up to 25.7 per cent in 2001 from 22.7 per cent in 1991.
However it needs to be noted that this increase has been mainly due to an increase
in the proportion of marginal workers. Now let us see the distribution of women
labour in different sectors of economy. 49
Women, Social Table 16.1: Percentage of Main Workers Engaged in Different Sectors
Movements and Change
Persons Males Females
Primary 67.5 63.6 81.2
Secondary 12.0 13.1 8.0
Tertiary 20.5 23.3 10.8

Source: Census of India, 2001

As we could see from Table 16.1 a vast majority of the female workforce is
employed in the primary sector which mainly includes the agriculture sector. In
urban areas, majority of women are working in the unorganized sector and a
very small percentage of women are employed in the organized sector. The
transport, storage and commerce sectors have shown a substantial increase in
women workers. The most spectacular rise in respect of female employment has
been in the sphere of insurance, real estate, business and service sectors. In
the service sector, women are generally employed as sweepers, cleaners, waiters,
cooks, maidservants, ayahs etc. The educated women in the service sector are
employed in non-traditional occupations such as journalism, designing, painting,
sculpture, teaching medicine, engineering etc. A very small percentage of women
have turned entrepreneurs (Kalbagh 1992).

In the agricultural sector, the percentage of women cultivators is very low. Women
workers mostly act as helpers to men in agricultural activities in rural areas. They
do such works as harvesting, weeding, planting, threshing, manuring etc. They
are classified as agricultural labourers. The women cultivators are mostly found
in the hilly or tribal districts. They are engaged in the cultivation of their own
small and uneconomic holdings in the absence of their husbands who often migrate
into cities in search of jobs. Their participation in non-farm activities is declining
though. Then there is mining and quarrying, where women from backward and
tribal communities work. In third category i.e. industry, the maximum number of
women are employed in such industrial activities as spinning, weaving, dyeing,
knitting etc. Women are also employed in large numbers in the electric, electronic
and garment industries. The employment of women under the next three types
of industries — electricity, gas and water supply, construction, and trade and
commerce — however, reveal a downward trend (ibid).

Some factors responsible for the emergence of women in non-traditional services

and professions have been described as: i) constitutional guarantee of non-
discrimination and equality of opportunity in matters of employment, ii) expansion
of women’s education and their entry into new areas of employment, iii) gradual
change in social values relating to women’s paid employment among the urban
middle class, due to growing economic pressure, iv) expansion of the tertiary
sector as a direct consequence of development, v) increase in pressure on
agriculture and cottage industries, and vi) advancement of industry and technology.

Do You Know? 2
Organized and Unorganized Sector Employment
The organized sector in the Indian economy as defined by the Directorate-
General of Employment and Training comprises a) all public sector
establishments, i.e., all services under the central, state and local
government occupations in the public undertakings in the field of economy,
credit financing, public utilities etc., and b) non-agricultural private sector
establishments which employ 10 or more people in the case of units with
electrical power or those which employ twenty or more people in the case
of units without electrical power.
By deduction, employment outside the defined organized sector is
employment in the unorganized or informal sector including self-
employment.
50
The employment status of women workers can be classified into three broad State and Civil Soceity's
categories: organized, unorganized and self-employed. Out of these, organized Response to Women's
Movements
sector employments fall in the formal sector, the employees of which get the
protection of labour laws and many other benefits. Women constitute only around
17 per cent of the organized sector work force. The employments in the unorganized
and the self-employed sector do not provide any labour guarantee since these are
not covered under the labour laws. In India around 93 per cent of the total labour
force is in the unorganized sector so also a vast majority of the female labour.
While central government, state governments, quasi-governmental institutions
and local bodies are the major source of organized employment for women, in
the unorganized sector the largest employment of women is in the production of
cereals. Other unorganized sector employments most of the women are engaged
in are cattle and goat breeding and milk production, beedi manufacture, textile
manufacture, educational services and domestic services (Gopalan 1995). In the
organized sector the major chunk of women are employed in factories, mines and
plantations.

Think It Over 1
Examine the state of women’s labour in India. What are the reasons in your
opinion for the concentration of women workers in the unorganized sector?

16.3 LABOUR LAWS IN INDIA

The beginning of legislative attempts to regulate relations between employers
and labour in the industries in India began in the nineteenth century by the British
government in India. The main objective of these laws was to restrict labourers
from leaving the jobs and by imposing penal consequences for breaches of contract
(Mazumdar 2004). A change of the direction in the policy of regulating and improving
the employment and working conditions in industry began with the movement of
organization of labour, which received an impetus and support with the
establishment of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 1919. The following
decade witnessed the enactment of a series of labour laws in India, viz., Indian
Factories Act, 1922, the Indian Mines Act, 1923, the Indian Worksmen Compensation
Act, 1923, the Indian Trade Union Act, 1926, and the Trade Dispute Act, 1929.

The Royal Commission on Labour (Whitley Commission), appointed in 1929 to

examine the problems of workers in factories, plantations and other places,
recommended a number of measures taking ILO conventions into consideration.
Till independence the recommendations of the Whitley Commission formed the
basis for the enactment of further laws. Immediately prior to independence, the
Interim National Government drew up a seventeen-point Five Year programme
for labour. The principles underlying these programmes were incorporated into
the Directive Principles of the State policy of Indian Constitution.

16.3.1 Labour Protection for Women in the Indian Constitution

The Directive Principles of State Policy of the Indian Constitution provide for
special protection of women workers through Articles 39 and 42. Article 15(3)
gives the necessary protection for such special provisions for women and children
within the framework of the Fundamental Rights. Article 46, which directs the
State to promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the
weaker sections of the people, is also regarded as a directive to improve the
employment opportunities and the conditions of women workers. In line with
these directives, special clauses in various labour laws provide for the protection
and welfare of women workers in factories, mines, plantations etc. (Ibid).

Besides the constitutional directives, the recommendations of various governmental

bodies — Committee on the Status of Women in India (1974), the National
Perspective Plan for Women (1988-2000), the Shramshakti Report (1988), the
51
Women, Social National Commission for Women etc. — that were constituted to examine and
Movements and Change uplift the status of women in India also became guidelines for enacting or amending
the labour laws to protect the interests of women labour.

16.4 WOMEN AND LABOUR LAWS

The labour laws in general pave the way for good conditions of service, which
include welfare benefits such as retrenchment benefits, employees’ provident
fund scheme, medical benefits and compensation etc. The main focus of the
government’s policies on women’s labour has been to remove the handicaps under
which they work, strengthen their bargaining capacity, improve their wages and
working conditions, enhance their skills and open up better employment
opportunities for them. The legal provisions that specifically apply to women
workers are: a) the abolition of night work except in the some occupations, b)
provisions that prohibit work involving lifting heavy weights c) prohibition of
underground work for women in the mines, d) maternity benefits, e) provisions
for crèches, f) equal remuneration for equal work, etc. (Desai and Krishnaraj
1990).

There are numerous laws to protect the rights of labourers in India. Some of them
relate specifically to women like the Equal Remuneration Act and Maternity Benefit
Act, whereas some other contain specific provisions for women. A look at these
laws will give us an idea about their position on women’s welfare and safeguarding
their rights. Even though not all laws deal specifically with the welfare of women,
a cursory glance at the major ones would reveal the provisions that they have for
women workers.

16.4.1 Labour Laws Applicable to Organized Sector

The Factories Act, 1948

The Factories Act is the principal legislation for regulating various aspects relating
to safety, health and welfare of workers employed in factories. This is a central
Act, which aims at protecting the workers employed in factories from industrial
and occupational hazards. The Act lays down specific provisions for women
workers. In order to ensure the safety of women, the occupiers of the factories
are prohibited to employ women for cleaning, lubricating or adjusting any part of
a prime mover or any transmission machinery when it is in motion. Other provisions
for women include non-employment of women in any part of the factory for pressing
cotton in which a cotton opener is at work. The state government under Section
34(2) of the Act is authorised to make rules prescribing the maximum weight,
which may be carried by women employed in the factory (Raizada 1996). The Act
has provisions for crèches in every factory in which more than thirty women workers
are ordinarily employed.

Mines Act, 1952

This Act is meant for the protection and safety of mine workers. It provides for
special guidelines for women. Under this Act, no woman shall be employed in any
part of the mine which is located underground. Each woman employed in a mine
above ground shall be allowed an interval not less than eleven hours between the
termination of employment and the commencement of the next period of
employment on any one day (ibid). The central government is authorized to
prohibit, restrict or regulate the employment of women in any class of mines or
particular kinds of labour, which are hazardous to life, safety or health of women
workers. The law makes provisions for separate toilets and washing facilities for
women workers.

Both the Factories and Mines Acts authorize the appropriate government to fix
the maximum load that can be lifted, carried or moved by women. The state
52
government also may prohibit or restrict women’s employment in any other State and Civil Soceity's
operation which exposes them to a serious risk of bodily injury or disease. Response to Women's
Movements
Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948
This Act provides for certain benefits to employees in case of sickness, maternity
and injury caused at workplace. The Act applies to all factories (including
government factories but excluding seasonal factories) employing ten or more
persons and carrying on a manufacturing process with the aid of power or employing
20 or more persons and carrying on a manufacturing process without the aid of
power, and such other establishments as the government may specify.

Plantation Labour Act, 1951

The objective of this Act is to provide for the welfare of labour and to regulate
their conditions of work in plantations. It also lays down certain specifications
for women workers. No woman worker shall be employed by the employer in any
plantation before 6 a.m. and after 7 p.m. except with the permission of the state
government. This restriction does not apply to midwives and nurses employed in
any plantation. Section 21 of this Act provides that a period of work on each day
shall be so fixed that no period shall exceed five hours before a woman has had
an interval of rest for at least half an hour (ibid). The law makes it mandatory to
have crèches in every plantation wherein fifty or more women workers (including
women workers employed by any contractor) are employed or where the number
of children of women workers employed by any contractor is twenty or more.

Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

The Maternity Benefit Act is a major legislation for women as far as labour laws
go. It was enacted to promote the welfare of working women. The Act applies to
mines, plantations, circus industry, factories, and shops and all establishments
employing more than ten persons. The Act regulates the employment of women
for a certain period before and after childbirth and provides for maternity and
other benefits.

Every woman entitled to maternity benefits shall also be entitled to receive from
her employer medical bonus (if the pre-natal confinement and post-natal care is
not provided for by the employer) without any charges. In case of miscarriage, a
woman is entitled to get leave with wages for a period of six weeks. The Act
prohibits an employer from knowingly employing any woman in a period
immediately following her delivery or miscarriage. The maternity benefit act was
amended quite extensively in 1973, 1975, 1989 and 1996 to improvise and expand
the outreach of the provisions of the original Act.

Do you know? 3
The Provisions of Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.
• The maximum period for which women can get maternity benefit is twelve
weeks of which six weeks may be taken in the period preceding childbirth
if desired and the remaining six weeks may be taken immediately following
the date of delivery. In order to be entitled to maternity leave, a woman
must have actually worked at least for a period of 80 days continuously
in the calendar year before the expected date of her delivery.
• For availing six weeks leave, prior to the expected date of delivery, a
notice must be given in writing to the employer stating the date of absence
from work and also certificate of pregnancy. The employer has to pay
the maternity benefit in advance for this period to the concerned
employee or any other person nominated by such employee.
• For the six weeks, leave from the date of delivery, another notice must
be sent together with a certificate of delivery after the child is born.
The employer has to pay to the employee, or her nominee, the maternity
53
Women, Social
Movements and Change benefits within 48 hours of receiving the notice. Failure to give notice
for the subsequent six weeks does not disentitle a woman to maternity
benefit.
• The Act stipulates that the employer will not compel the woman to do
any strenuous work during her pregnancy, or give notice for discharge or
dismissal during this period.
• It makes provisions for two nursing breaks of 15 minutes each, once the
mother gets back to work. An employer cannot reduce the remuneration
on account of light work assigned to her or for the breaks taken to nurse
the child.

Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972

The Act is applicable to every establishment employing ten or more persons.
Under Section 4 of the Act, an employee, who has completed a continuous service
of not less than 5 years, is entitled to get gratuity on termination of his or her
employment due to superannuation, retirement, resignation, death or disablement.
This Act provides for payment of gratuity at the rate of 15 days wages for each
completed year of service subject to a maximum of Rs.3,50,000.

Think It Over 2
Examine the reasons why women’s labour, both in the organized and the
unorganized sector needs the protective covering of labour legislations?

16.4.2 Labour Laws Applicable to Unorganized Sector

There are a number of labour laws that provide for the labour protection for
labourers in the unorganized sector. Laws coming under this category are Payment
of Wages Act, Minimum Wages Act, Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition)
Act, Equal Remuneration Act, Inter-State Migrant Workers (Regulation of
Employment and Conditions of Service) Act and Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act, Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act etc. As
mentioned earlier, implementation of labour laws falls within the jurisdiction of
the respective areas of the Central and State government. Let us now have a look
at provisions concerning given in some of these laws.

The Minimum Wages Act, 1948

The Minimum Wages Act is among the most important legislations for the benefit
of the unorganized labour. The Act provides for periodic revision of minimum
rates of wages. It aims to prevent exploitation of workers employed in certain
scheduled employments. The workers in this sector are vulnerable due to lack of
bargaining power and machinery for regulation of their wages. The objective is to
secure the welfare of the workers in a competitive market by fixing the minimum
limit of wages through introduction of elements of social justice, fairness and
reason. This Act is important for women workers as they can hope for minimum
wages, in an exploitative environment.

The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966

This Act aims to provide for the regulation of conditions of service and welfare of
the workers employed in the beedi and cigar establishments and those based at
homes. It is applicable to a person employed directly or through any agency,
whether for wages or not, in any establishment to do any work, skilled or unskilled,
manual or clerical, and includes any labour who is given raw material by any
employer or contractor for being made into beedi and cigar or both. It also applies
to any person working from home, any person not employed by an employer or a
contractor but working with the permission of/or under agreement with the
employer or contractor.

54
 State and Civil Soceity's
Do You Know? 4 Response to Women's
The National Commission on Labour has classified the following Movements
industries, which may be said to employ unorganized labour namely:
• Contract labour including construction workers,
• Casual labour,
• Labour employed in small-scale industry
• Handloom/powerloom workers,
• Bidi and cigar workers,
• Employees in shops and commercial establishments,
• Sweepers and scavengers,
• Workers in tanneries,
• Tribal labour,
• Other unprotected labour

The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970

This Act was enacted in 1970 in order to regulate the employment of contract
labour and make way for its gradual abolition. This Act applies to every
establishment employing 20 or more workers. It is applicable to all establishments
that offer work for 120 days in a year and 60 days in case of seasonal nature of
work. The Act provides for regulation of conditions of work, payment of wages
and other amenities relating to welfare and health of contract labour. Most of the
provisions of this Act are a part of the Inter-state Migrant Workmen (Regulation of
Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979. The responsibility of the payment
of wages (before the expiry of the specified period) to the workers engaged as
contract labour, is that of the contractor. The Act lays down certain duties for
contractors and provides for maintenance of proper registers.

Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976

This Act was passed in order to abolish the bonded labour system, and to free and
discharge every bonded labourer from the obligation of rendering services as a
bonded labourer. The Act envisages release of all bonded labourers, liquidation
of their debts, and their rehabilitation. Under the Act, anyone who has taken
any debts and is rendering his services in lieu of that debt cannot be compelled to
repay the debt after he or she has been released.

Though the bonded labour system has been abolished, there have been reports
from time to time about its existence in some areas. There have been judicial
interventions at the level of the Supreme Court with regard to this matter. The
court has also suggested that the National Human Rights Commission be involved
in dealing with the issue of bonded labour, especially the supervision of law
implementation.

The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

The Act is a landmark legislation for women workers. It provides for equal
remuneration for the same work or to work of a similar nature to both men and
women. It seeks to prevent discrimination on grounds of sex in terms of payment
for the work done. The same work or work of a similar nature under the Act
means the work performed under similar working conditions by men and women,
for doing which the skill, effort and responsibility required are the same. The Act
makes provision for the appointment of the Adjudicating Authority whenever a
dispute arises between the management and the employees as well as an appellate
authority empowered to hear an appeal against the decision of the adjudicating
authority.
55
Women, Social
Movements and Change Do you know? 5
Main Features of Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
• No employer shall pay to any worker employed by him remuneration at
the rates less favourable than those at which remuneration is paid by
him to the workers of the opposite sex in such establishment or
employment for performing the same work or work of a similar nature.
No employer should reduce the rate of remuneration of any worker.
• Where, in an establishment or employment, the rates of remuneration
payable before the commencement of this Act for men and women workers
for the same work or work of a similar nature are different only on the
ground of sex, then the higher (in cases where there are only two rates)
or as the case may be, the highest (in cases where there are more than
two rates) of such rates shall be the rate at which remuneration shall be
payable, on and from such commencement, to such men and women
workers.
• On and from the commencement of this Act, no employer shall, while
making recruitment for the same work or work of a similar nature, make
any discrimination against women except where the employment of
women in such work is prohibited or restricted by or under the law.
• For the purpose of providing increasing employment opportunities for
women, the appropriate government shall constitute one or more advisory
committees to advise with regard to the extent to which women may be
employed in such establishments or employments as the central
government may specify.
• In tendering advice, the advisory committee shall have to take into
account the number of women employed in the concerned establishment,
nature of work, hours of work, suitability of women to employment, and
the need of providing increasing employment opportunities for women.
• The appropriate government by notification shall appoint such officers
not below the rank of labour officer for the purpose of hearing and
deciding complaints and claims arising out of non-payment of wages or
discriminatory policies.

The government of India has already notified over 22 different establishments,

and a large number of manufactures, employments, and services, etc, that are
covered under the law. This law was amended in 1987 making penalties for violation
more stringent.

The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions

of Service) Act, 1979
The major objective of this central Act is to regulate the employment conditions
of inter-state migrant workers. It aims at safeguarding the interests of the workers
who are recruited by contractors from one state for service in an establishment
situated in another state. It ensures protection of such workers from exploitation
of the contractors. The employer under this Act is prohibited from engaging migrant
workers unless he or she has obtained a registration certificate as provided for in
the Act. There is a provision for payment of displacement allowance at the time
of recruitment and even a journey allowance from place of residence to the place
of work. Besides, there are provisions in the law for separate toilets, and washing
facilities, grant of equal remuneration, and provisions for residential
accommodation, free medical facilities etc.

The Act applies to every establishment in which five or more inter-state migrant
workers are employed or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve
months. The Act provides for payment of minimum wages on the basis of equal
56
pay for equal work (irrespective of sex). It makes provision for residential State and Civil Soceity's
accommodation, medical aid, clothing etc. The Act also provides for external Response to Women's
Movements
inspection and review.

Learn From Your Experience 1

Talk to some women migrant labourers. Collect some information on the
following:
i) are they aware of the existence of a specific legislation covering their
nature of labour
ii) are they aware of their rights accorded in the legislation
iii) do they insist for their rights to their employer?
Based on the information thus collected write a note on ‘practical applicability
of a labour law’.

Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and

Conditions of Service) Act 1996
This Act regulates the employment and conditions of service of building and other
construction workers. It provides for their safety, health, welfare measures
and also other matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The Act
provides for the establishment of crèches and grant of medical benefit to women
workers.

Thus, there are many labour laws that aim at protection of labour against
discrimination and exploitation. There are also the Workmen’s Compensation Act,
1923 (to provide for payment of compensation to workers or their dependents in
case of industrial accidents, arising out of and in the course of employment, and
resulting in disablement or death), the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (to ensure
payment of wages, at regular intervals, without any unauthorised deductions, to
the persons employed in industry), the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (to provide
for investigation and settlement of industrial disputes, secure industrial peace
and harmony; and ensure social justice), the Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act 1986 (to ban employment of children below the age of 14 years in
factories, mines and hazardous occupations and to regulate the working conditions
of children. Table 16.2 depicts some of the protective measures for women
labourers under different Labour Acts.

Table 16.2: Women-Protective Legal Provisions in Some of the Labour Laws

Industrial Employment (Standing Provision of safeguards against sexual harassment

Orders) Act, 1946 of women workers at the work place.
Mica Mines Labour Welfare Fund Appointment of women members in the Advisory
Act, 1946 and Central Advisory Committee is mandatory.
The Beedi and Cigar Workers Provision of crèches for the benefit of women
(Conditions of Employment) Act, workers in the industrial premises wherein more
1966 than fifty female employees are ordinarily
employed.
Lime Stone and Dolomite Mines Appointment of a woman member in the Advisory
Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1972 and Central Advisory Committee is mandatory.
Beedi Workers Welfare Fund Act, -do-
1976
Iron Ore Mines, Manganese Ore
Mines and Chrome Ore Mines Labour -do-
Welfare Fund Act, 1976

57
Women, Social
Movements and Change 16.5 LABOUR WELFARE SCHEMES
A method of providing labour protection apart from protective labour laws has
been one of following a welfare approach. Under this approach the government
has introduced insurance schemes and welfare fund schemes. Let us have a brief
look of these schemes.

Insurance Schemes: The Life Insurance Corporation is operating a group insurance

scheme for the benefit of 23 different groups of workers in the unorganized sector.
The scheme is operated with a premium subsidy of 50% given by the government
of India. Other than group insurance, the Corporation also operates another scheme
called Scheme for Landless Agricultural Labourers (LALGI). In order to meet the
social security needs of the agricultural workers, a social security scheme, namely
Krishi Shramik Samaj Suraksha Yojana, 2001, has been launched by the Ministry of
Labour through the Life Insurance Corporation. The Scheme calls for providing
comprehensive benefits of life-cum-accident insurance, money back policy, pension
and superannuation benefits.

Welfare Funds: Welfare Fund schemes are being operated for the benefit of groups
of workers by raising resources in terms of contributions from the workers as
well as their employers. Like the Beedi and Cigar Workers Welfare Fund for which
a Cess Fund Act has been enacted nationally. There are also funds for other group
of workers created by the state governments. Schemes such as Asha Kiran Scheme
of the government of Karnataka, Insurance cum Retirement Benefit Special Scheme
of the Tamil Nadu Government for workers in the unorganized sector, Scheme of
the Gujarat Government for Financial Assistance to the Landless Women
Agricultural Labourers during Pregnancy, Kerala Agricultural Workers Scheme etc.
fall under this category.

A working group set up by the Department of, Rural Development, Ministry of

Agriculture and Rural Development in 1978 recommended that the major objectives
of the development plan for rural women should be: (i) improvement of their
economic status; and (ii) promotion of women’s organisations to have the collective
strength to articulate their need, and promote their participation in the
development process (National Perspective Plan for Women (NPPW), 1988-2000).

Other Government Schemes: There are various government programmes and

schemes that operate for employment creation and labour welfare of women.
Programmes such as Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA),
National Rural Employment Programme (NREP), Rural Landless Employment
Guarantee Programme (RLEGP), Programme for Employment and Income
Generating Production Unit, National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme,
etc., are programmes specifically aimed of weaker sections or have special
provisions for women’s labour participation and upliftment.

Think It Over 3
Explain the advantages of having labour welfare schemes for the unorganized
sector.

16.6 INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS TO FACILITATE

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LEGAL SAFEGUARDS
National Commission on Labour
The First National Commission on Labour was set up in 1966. Its main
recommendations included the extension of National Employment Service in a
phased manner, strengthening of the scheme of workers’ education, enforcement
of statutory provisions about safety equipment, provision of welfare facilities
58
such as insurance for contract labour, compensation for injury during the work, State and Civil Soceity's
promotion of collective bargaining etc. Response to Women's
Movements
The Second Commission on Labour, set up in 1999, aimed at rationalising labour
laws and evolving umbrella legislation for minimum level of protection of
unorganized labour. It deliberated on the status of industrial development, impact
of globalization, review of existing laws, interlinkages between productivity and
efficiency, welfare of women and child labour, recognition of all workers in the
unorganized sector, as well as significance of social security, skill development
and labour relations.

Special Cell for Women Labour

The Ministry of Labour set up a Women Labour Cell in 1975 with the objective of
focussing attention on the condition of working women and bringing about
improvement in their lot. The Cell has the following functions:
• Formulation and coordination of policies and programmes for the women
labour force within the framework of national manpower and economic
policies.
• Maintaining liaison with other government agencies to secure effective
implementation of the programmes in respect of women workers.
• Monitoring the implementation of the programmes in respect of women
workers.
• Appraising the implementation of the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.
• Giving grants-in-aid to non-governmental organisations /voluntary
organisations to formulate and execute action-oriented projects for women
workers.

Women’s Welfare and Development Bureau

The Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI) in its report “Towards
Equality”, laid focus on women and welfare policies. It was realised that
Constitutional guarantees of equality would be meaningless unless women’s right
to economic independence is acknowledged and their training in skills as
contributors to the family and national economy are improved. A significant
outcome of the CSWI Report was the National Plan of Action that identified areas
of health, family planning, nutrition, education, employment, legislation and social
welfare for formulating and implementing action programmes for women. It called
for planned interventions to improve the conditions of women in India (Jha 1996).

An immediate outcome of the National Plan of Action has been the setting up of
the Women’s Welfare and Development Bureau in 1976 under the Ministry of Social
Welfare to act as a nodal point within the Government of India. It is mandated to
coordinate policies and programmes and initiate measures for women’s
development. The Bureau has been given the responsibility of coordinating and
collaborating with the programmes of central government ministries, collecting
data to serve as a clearing house, monitoring programmes for women’s welfare,
liaising with the United Nations and other international agencies working in the
area of women’s welfare, and dealing with legal issues and problems concerning
women (Gupta and Gupta 1996).

Learn From Your Experience 2

Visit any Civil Society Oganisation (CSO) (it could be any NGO or a Social
Action Group near your area). Make a note on its activities related to
upliftment of women workers.
Analyse the role undertaken by the CSO that you have taken up study with
regard to: i) women’s position vis-à-vis labour laws, ii) enforcement of
labour laws, iii) steps towards upliftment of women workers, and iv) nature
of skill development p\rogrammes for women.
59
Women, Social
Movements and Change 16.7 LEGAL SAFEGUARDS: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
FOR WOMEN’S LABOUR
As we have seen, there are some protective labour laws specifically aimed at
women’s welfare and there are some others which have provisions for women’s
labour. These labour laws have been in operation for the last several decades in
India. The way these laws are operated for the protection of both organized and
unorganized labour several issues and challenges concerning women come to the
forefront. Let us see some of these issues here.

Discrimination against Women Labour: Even many protective laws of the State
are believed to be disadvantageous for the women. The employers consider the
provisions envisaged under such labour laws to be expensive to maintain. The
declining trend of women’s employment in industries and mines is generally
attributed to laws such as ‘Equal Remuneration Act’, ‘Maternity Benefit Act’,
‘Minimum Wages Payment Act’ etc. The relatively high cost of employing women
has been one of the contributory factors for the employers to discriminate against
women labour force.

However, in the absence of research evidence in this regard, such attributions

cannot be fully authenticated. A study done by the International Labour
Organisation (ILO) and National Commission on Labour has dismissed the connection
between lower participation levels, retrenchment of women and execution of
protective laws. Similarly, the argument that the ban on night work has adversely
has affected women’s employment has also been rejected. It has been observed
that the effect of the ban can only be true of a few industries that have adopted
a multiple shift system. The National Commission on Labour has been of the view
that the ban on hazardous work, particularly the lifting of weights has, however,
has affected the employment of women in the jute industry only to a certain
extent. The theory that the provision of maternity benefits has proved to be a
deterrent to women’s employment also could not be substantiated as the total
expenditure on maternity benefits under the Maternity Benefits Act is found to be
less than 1% of the total expenditure. As other provisions like crèches and sanitary
facilities, the expenditure involved is negligible and this could not explain the
declining trend of women’s employment.

Lopsided Enforcement of Laws: Enforcement of labour laws is another problem.

Many a times these laws are not enforced sincerely. Moreover, enforcement has
different connotations for the organized and the unorganized sectors. The labour
laws in India are enforced by the Office of Labour Commissioner. As you read
earlier on in this unit, the vast majority of women work in the unorganized sector,
which itself is a huge problem. In case of a non-compliance complaint, the labour
inspectors often find themselves constrained due to want of evidence against
employers in the unorganized units. The employees never come forward to depose
before the Court of Law. They are fearful of losing their jobs. Inspections are
often carried out in a hostile environment and seldom does an aggrieved woman
employee receive cooperation and support from the inspecting staff and her
colleagues.

The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1971, does provide labour
protection workers, including the women workers, with some minimal rights, but
the way this legislation has been formulated leaves loopholes, which have been
exploited by unscrupulous employers and also the government, from time to time.
For example, the Act forbids the employment of contract labour for work of a
permanent or perennial nature, but if workers ever complain that this is being
done, they are fired and new workers are taken in when the jobs are made
permanent. This discourages contract workers from making such complaints.

The condition of women workers in the organized sector is also not very good.
60 Even though a legal and institutional framework created under Employees State
Insurance Act, Maternity Benefit Act, Equal Remuneration Act, Employees’ State and Civil Soceity's
Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, etc., is available to women Response to Women's
Movements
workers, it is not being strictly adhered to. Another law that is not strictly enforced
is the Equal Remuneration Act. Wage differentials exist in both agricultural as
well as industrial sectors. Women workers are found to earn only 60 per cent of
male wages for full-time work.

Do You Know? 6
Wage Differentials between Male and Female Labour
The difference in wages among women workers in organized and
unorganized sector is higher than among the men workers. In urban areas,
the average earnings of regular wage salaried women employees are about
three times higher than that of women causal labourers. The disparities in
wage rates between men and women are more pronounced in rural than
urban areas. In rural areas, the casual workers engaged in weeding and
harvesting are usually the tribal women folk from lower strata of society.
Despite the Equal Remuneration Act, the wage fixing machinery in some
states maintain differentials between the men and women for similar
operations. In the farm sector, wages of women workers are lower than
those of men in spite of the fact that they are engaged in similar kind of
work. Considerable difference exists between the wages of men and women
in factories, mines and plantations. This is on the grounds of variations in
physical strength, level of education, extent of training, inclination for
the job etc.
Women in the handicraft sector predominate in areas where wages are
comparatively low, for instance, bamboo product making, coir products;
agarbatti making etc. In fact, the principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’
has been working to the disadvantage of women workers. Even within the
ambit of the Minimum Wages Act, wages are generally adjusted only at the
end of the season, and whatever advance money women get in the beginning
of an exploitative recruitment process is simply insufficient to make both
ends meet.
Two studies initiated by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)
in Bihar and Delhi have reported wage discrimination, deferred payment,
unexplained fine and deduction generally made by contractors. They have
also reported a high degree of indebtness of the workers to these
contractors. The beedi industry has been found to be one of the most
sweated industries. The Research Committee of the ICSSR was appalled by
the conditions of women working both in workshops and their homes. The
women working in the chikan embroidery industry, which was surveyed by
the Committee, also complained of frequent cuts in their wages.

Though Government and Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) have been playing

an active role in organising women and fighting for social justice, results have not
been always positive. In some cases, there is a complete lack of rapport between
the government and NGOs. In others, there is a tendency of associating women’s
programmes entirely with voluntary action, showing a lack of initiative on the
part of government. It has been observed that the government does not work in
alignment with the voluntary sector (NPPW)

Lack of Security Blanket: The bulk of labour legislation deliberately excludes the
informal sector. For example, the Factories Act, 1948, which covers working
conditions, health and safety, basic amenities like toilets, working hours,
prohibition of child labour and night work for women, workplace crèches, and
much more, does not apply to informal workers. Similarly the Employees’ State
Insurance Act, 1948, providing for accident compensation and sickness and
maternity benefits, does not apply to workplaces with less than twenty workers
without power.
61
Women, Social The non-application of the security provisions outlined by most of the labour laws
Movements and Change to the informal sector gives a free hand to the employers to create false breaks in
employment so that workers never become permanent. They employ large number
of contract workers (deemed to be permanent employees of labour contractors)
but do not show them on the payrolls of the company.

There are no laws related to wage payment or working conditions of certain

categories of workers, e.g., rag pickers. The existing framework of industrial
labour excludes workers who do not come under a strict employer–employee
relationship. It is difficult for the enforcement agencies to cover this category of
workers, as it is tough to identify a single employer who could be held responsible
for the safety, welfare and working conditions of these workers. The category of
home-based workers is ill-defined, which leaves them out of the beneficiary
bracket. Domestic work under the home-based sector is also vaguely defined.
Thus, there are no specific terms of employment, social security and medical
benefits for this sector.

Non-conducive Work Environment: The chronic insecurity of informal workers

allows employers to impose extremely hazardous working conditions on them.
The construction industry is the second largest employer in the country, employing
more than thirty-two million informal workers. The working conditions in this
sector are deplorable. Whether it is a government or private undertaking, the
employers are oblivious to the hazards involved. Consequently, the number of
crippling and fatal accidents is extremely high (Hensman).

Do you Know? 7
Shortcomings in Implementation of Programmes for Women
The major shortcomings in the implementation of the programmes for women,
as identified by NPPW, are: (i) perpetuation of the concept that women
need only welfare services, (ii) assumption that development benefits will
automatically accrue to the women; (iii) non-availability of knowledge and
skills for designing socio-economic activities for women; and (iv) lack of
supportive services such as credit, child care, marketing, training and
technology for reducing drudgery (cited in Jha 1996). The greatest difficulty
in understanding the problems underlying the economic role of the women
has been caused by treating women as a homogenous group. This assumption
has influenced the collection of data, the laws, and the policies adopted to
improve the conditions of women workers. It has also impacted the popularly
held notions about women’s participation in the economy (CSWI).

Think It Over 4
Examine the reasons for the low female work participation rate is in India in
spite of the existence of several protective labour legislations. Also suggest
some ways to improve women’s work participation rates

16.8 THE ROAD AHEAD

Any evaluation of the economic role of women cannot be done without examining
the stage of development of a society in which they live, and the socio-cultural
attitudes towards the role of women in the family as well as community at large.
The debate on women’s economic role and the need for equality of rights and
opportunities for economic participation centres around arguments such as: (i)
women’s economic subjugation or dependence leads to exploitation and is a denial
of social justice and human rights (ii) development of a society requires full
participation by all sections of the population and opportunities for full
development of the potentialities of women; and (iii) modern trends in demographic
and social changes impact women (CSWI). Keeping this in view, various efforts
62 can be made to improve the condition of women labourers.
Amendment in Legal Enactments: Amending by adding or deleting certain sections State and Civil Soceity's
in the existing labour laws can make them more applicable and protective to Response to Women's
Movements
women’s labour. For example the Inter-state Migrant Workers (Regulation of
Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 may be amended in order to
bring in the contractors and migrant labour directly under the principal employer
and enable the workers and third parties to file their complaints directly.

With regard to the Maternity Benefit Act, the Shramshakti Report 1988 has
emphasised that the costs of maternity benefits should be met through a tax on
the whole industry irrespective of whether or not, they employ women. The
Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 should be extended to all industries and the provision
of maternity relief should be ensured by the creation of a Central Fund by levying
contributions from employers. The Act should cover agricultural labourers also.
An anti-retrenchment clause should be included in the Act. Casual women workers
should be entitled to crèche facilities. The Employees’ State Insurance Scheme
should be extended to all sectors.
Provision of Work Place and Social Security: The Supreme Court draws upon the
Convention for Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
— an international treaty that India has both signed and ratified— in dealing the
issue of sexual harassment at workplace. The government of India has the Bill on
Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace and the Bill has to be passed in
Parliament for it to acquire the status of law. Such a law will be an important
labour law that protects the rights of women for a safe work environment.
As per the NPPW, rural development programmes for women must recognise
seasonal migrant labourers as a special category. Women’s access to productive
resources such as land for cultivation and credit inputs must be ensured. Credit
societies need to be organized exclusively for women. Particular emphasis should
be placed on institutional credit mechanisms at differential rates of interest for
women in the unorganized sector. Efforts need to be made to implement the
recommendations of various Commissions and Committees for women so far on
the provision of crèches, retiring rooms, canteens, hostels, etc., at the workplace.

Do You Know? 8
Focusing on Research and Training for Women
Introducing new methods of job evaluation can provide an equitable status
and position for male and female workers with regard to social security
and fiscal arrangements. Our planning system should be in consonance
with overall human resource needs. It needs to keep a closer watch on
changes in occupational structure of women labour force, analyse new
areas of their employment, increase women labour force’s adaptability to
changing employment requirements through appropriate training and
education facilities (Kalbagh 1992).
As per the NPPW, focus on training programmes for creating awareness,
improving skills, and helping tribal women to form groups for better
bargaining should be the key to future strategy of women’s development
and their physical and social protection. This training should also teach
them the methods of coping with various exploitative situations including
those of marketing. It must also have components of legal aid and para-
legal training. A committee including the district coordinator for women’s
programmes should be formed to look into the training needs of men and
women panchayat members. Krishi Vigyan Kendras need to be extended to
all districts.
In the context of globalization and economic liberalization, the quality of
women’s employment will depend upon several factors. Chief amongst
these are access to education and skill development training. Efforts should
be made to create conditions and opportunities, which are conducive for
women to work in increasingly productive and remunerative sectors of the
63
Women, Social
Movements and Change economy with freedom. The issues requiring priority in the coming years
are: i) creating and strengthening an accurate and authentic database or
databank on women workers in all sectors of employment, covering both
organized and unorganized sectors, ii) giving precedence to programmes
with a view to enabling women workers to improve their productivity and
access to quality employment, and also to enable them to take up new
jobs involving technological changes; and iii) carrying out research studies
on problems of women workers, their employability and the extent of
their displacement on account of technological and various other changes.

Strengthening Civil Society Organisations: The Non-governmental Organisations

(NGOs), Social Action Groups and other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) could
play a pertinent role in strengthening labour welfare policies for women. They
could run traditional and mobile crèches as well as schools for children of female
migrant workers. They could design simple and cheap but quality tents for migrant
workers, build hostels for female migrant workers to prevent them from living in
shanties, run mobile canteens, organise health camps at work sites, etc.
These organisations could undertake programmes to generate awareness, impart
literacy on legal rights and compensation rules, organise publicity campaigns,
and interact with the media, research institutes and political parties on
enforcement of labour Acts.
The Social Action Groups could bring to light the occupational hazards and stress
on the need for safety at work. The overall objective should be to make workers
visible and let their grievances be heard. They could interact with the government,
concerned bureaucrats, politicians and trade union leaders to put their point
across. Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been useful in dealing with the problem
of poor enforcement. Through PIL, the CSOs could take up the cause of women
workers and speak on their behalf.

Do You Know? 9
Initiatives of SEWA and ADHITI for Improving Labour Welfare of Women
The federation of a number of groups organized by Self Employed Women’s
Association (SEWA) under the government scheme called the Development
of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) to set up gum collection as
a cooperative activity some years ago. This endeavour has helped women
gum collectors immensely. The gum collectors are no longer exploited by
the traders. They have been able to reduce their costs on the collection
activity. Techniques have been developed to improve the quality of gum.
The quality of life of the women gum collectors and their family has
improved through crèches and health services offered by Banaskantha
DWCRA Mahila SEWA Association (BDMSA). Of late, many organisations have
been focusing on the rights of home-based workers. SEWA has been able
to organise home-based workers. It has been able to get the piece-rate
payment increased, and provide identity cards for beedi workers. SEWA
has also been able to organise garment workers, papad rollers, agarbatti
works, and embroidery and zardosi workers.
SEWA has been playing an important role in organising women labourers. It
has been fighting against injustice and non-implementation of labour laws.
The SEWA trade union membership has increased manifold since 1973. Its
members include vegetable vendors, beedi and tobacco workers, forest
producers, agricultural and allied workers, salt workers, textile, government
and embroidery workers, rag pickers, dhobis etc. SEWA has also organized
cooperatives in the field of banking, crafts, land-based activities, trading,
cleaning and rag picking etc.
The volunteers of an NGO called ADHITI in Bihar are also playing an
important role in generating awareness among women workers. It is also
involved in leadership development and income generation programmes.
64
 State and Civil Soceity's
ADHITI involves women workers through social mobilisation programmes. Response to Women's
It holds meetings with women in order to understand their problems. The Movements
major objective is to develop a participatory approach towards all
programmes meant for rural upliftment and betterment of women.

16.9 CONCLUDING REMARKS

The labour situation in India is marked by the prevalence of widespread illiteracy,
lack of training in basic skills, ineffective enforcement of labour laws, non-
implementation of industrial policies, inadequate appraisal of job performances,
and persistence of traditional attitudes. These are the various reasons that
perpetuate the vicious circle of underdevelopment, low productivity, and poor
conditions of health and welfare, which have serious consequences for society in
general, and women in particular. Many factors have been identified as affecting
women’s employment such as segmentation in the labour market, adverse
consequences of technological growth, lack of bargaining powers in women workers
and conceptual vagueness at the policy level. Many problems have arisen in the
wake of the use of new technologies and processes to organise labour. The backdrop
of globalization is redefining labour standards and labour relations. Women have
to be provided with more opportunities of economic participation, training and
skill inculculation. This is essential to cope with the consequences of what has
come to be described as “Feminization and Flexibilization” of labour.

It is generally believed that if implementation of policy is bad, then the problem

lies with policy formulation. Some believe that the policy is always good and it is
the implementation or enforcement of policy that adversely affects the good
intentions of policy makers. Whatever may be the reason, if a policy fails to
achieve its goals, then the lacunae have to be explored at all the levels of policy
cycle—formulation, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and review. The
discussion in this unit has revolved around the moot issue of the fruits of insightful
legislation not producing the desired outcome. The unit has highlighted the
situation of labour in the country, the nature of developments in the area of
women and labour. It discusses the legal safeguards for the female labour
protection. A range of issues and challenges in providing legislative protection to
women’s labour is discussed. The unit has also explored various alternatives to
improve the labour condition of women workers.

16.10 CLARIFICATION OF THE TERMS USED

ADITHI : The full form of ADITHI is Agriculture, Animal
Husbandry, Dairying, Industries, Tree Plantation,
Handicrafts, Handlooms – Integration of women
in key economic sectors. It is an NGO working in
six districts of Bihar, namely Madhubani, Deoghar,
Muzzaffarapur and Patna.
Feminization of Labour : It refers to the rapid and substantial increase in
the share of women in paid employment. The
term is also used to describe the changing nature
of employment, where irregular conditions that
were once thought to be the hallmark of women’s
secondary employment have become widespread
for both sexes.
Flexibilization of Labour : One of the consequences of Flexibilization of
labour organisations is the changing patterns of
working hours. These patterns are changing from
the aim of the employed as well as of employers.
It is a combination of both patterns of
65
 Flexibilization possible, or is a choice between
them unavoidable? The objective is to ascertain
the issues involved in the Flexibilization of
working hours: what choices do the employers
and employees make, and on which grounds are
these choices concerning working hours made?
And finally, what do such choices mean for the
quality of labour?
Home-based Workers : Home-based work is women’s major
engagement. As per International Labour
Organisation, home-based work implies an
employment relationship between the
homework and employer, sub-contractor, agent
or a middleman. The place of work is outside
the premises of the employer.
Non-capitalist Production : It refers to all activities, which do not involve
capital labour relations but are nonetheless both
economic and productive. It includes non-waged
forms of work e.g., family farming.
Public Interest Litigation : It means litigation for the protection of the public
interest. It is introduced in a court of law, not
by the aggrieved partly but by the court itself or
by any other private party.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/public-interest-
litigation.
Tertiary Sector : It refers to that part of the economy that deals
with service activities. It is one of the three main
industrial categories of the economy, the others
being the secondary and primary sectors.
Source: www.geographic.org/glossary.html

16.11 SOME USEFUL READINGS

Agarwal, Bina, Jane, Humphries and Ingrid, Robeyns (Eds.) 2006. Capabilities,
Freedom and Equality: Amartya Sen’s Work from Gender Perspective. Oxford:
New Delhi

Kalbagh, Chetna (Ed.) 1992. Women and Development (Women Development Series
4) Discovery: New Delhi

Kalpagam, U. 1994. Labour and Gender: Survival in Urban India. Sage: New Delhi