The Office of the Secretary-cum-Labour Commissioner, Government of NCT of Delhi, through a notification dated 26th November, 2019, has released the draft of the Delhi Mathadi, Palledars And Other Unprotected Manual Workers’ (Regulation Of Employment And Welfare) Bill, 2019 (“Bill”). The Bill proposes to regulate the employment of unprotected manual workers employed in certain employments in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and to provide for adequate supply and proper and full utilization in such employment.
Key Highlights:
- The Bill covers the rights of “unprotected workers” and has been defined as anyone who has completed 18 years of age but not completed 65 years of age. Unpotected workers will include mathadi, palledar or like other nomenclature, who is engaged or to be engaged in any scheduled employment (given in the Schedule of the Bill) including waste picker and other manual workers of the scheduled employments. The Bill also covers “workers” who are defined essentially as any person not employed by any employer or a contractor, but working with the permission of, or under agreement with the employer or contractor.
- Under Section 16 of The Bill, Working Conditions, Health and Safety Measures for the workers are provided for:
- No adult registered unprotected worker shall be required to work for more than eight hours in any day, unless they are paid overtime wages for the additional hours.
- All unprotected workers covered under this Bill shall be entitled to at least one day off in each week and other gazetted and notified holidays by the Government.
- No unprotected worker under the Bill shall be required to carry, at a time, any article or articles weighing more than fifty kilograms.
3. Provisions relating to safety measures by employers include that:
- Registered employers shall ensure sufficient safety measures at workplaces;
- Unprotected workers shall be provided sufficient personal safety gears by the employers in the manner as may be prescribed;
- Registered employers or their association shall provide sufficient clean drinking water and separate latrines and urinals for male and female registered unprotected workers free of cost.
4. The provisions of the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 (“ESI Act”) will apply to the unprotected workers covered under this Bill. For unprotected workers who cannot (due to some reason) be covered under the ESI Act, shall be provided a coverage of group family medical/ health insurance, not less than Rs. 5 lakhs per annum in any case. Besides, the female unprotected workers who can’t be covered under the ESI Act shall also be provided maternity benefits as may be prescribed.
5. Further, if the ESI Act is not applicable on any such unprotected worker under this Bill, the Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923 will be applicable to them.
6. For violating any section of the Bill, or any rules made under the Bill, a punishment of fine up to five lakh rupees and in case of continued contravention, fifty thousand rupees per day for each day of contravention has been prescribed.
Source: Secretary cum Labour Commissioner, NCT of Delhi
