- Under the new Wage Code rule, an employee or a registered Trade Union are also authorized to file a complaint before a Court of Law for prosecuting the employer
- Wage Code balances the right of an employee and an employer, said labour ministry official
The Wage Code that merged four existing labour laws may have been presented as one that will reduce regulatory friction and improve ease of doing business, but a section of the employers fear that certain provisions in the new labour law will increase legal harassment in the hands of their employees.
“The powers of Inspectors have also been conferred on employees and registered Trade Unions. Accordingly, under the said provision, an employee or a registered Trade Union are also authorized to file a complaint before a Court of Law for prosecuting the employer,” said Michael Dias, secretary of the Employers Association-Delhi, an industry federation.
Dias said his organization has assessed the provisions and believe that since workers definition is no more confined to just one segment of the employees earning less than Rs. 18,000 per month, it empowers all employees to go ahead with legal action against employers.
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“The provisions contained in the existing enactments do not confer any such right to the employees or to their Unions. As per the existing Law only an authorized person appointed by the appropriate Government may prosecute an employer. In order to initiate such prosecution action a series of exercises like issuance of a show cause notice and obtaining prior sanction from a higher authority have to be undergone by the said Officer. However, it is shocking to note that the Code is giving a blank cheque to the employees and to the unions for prosecuting the employers,” the Employers Association said in an email response.
Source: Livemint
