About Labour Department

Labour Department is one of the major Departments of Govt., mainly involved in creating industrial peace and maintaining it in the State. For these functions there is two wings in the Department under the leadership of two Additional Labour Commissioners

Mission and Vision of the department

Organization charts(pdf)

Line departments, Institutions and organizations under the department

Major Function of the department

Functions of the State Labour Department can mainly be divided into four:- 1.Industrial Relations
2.Enforcement
3.Quasi-judicial Functions
4.Welfare Schemes

Industrial Relations
Labour Department is instrumental in maintaining cordial industrial relations. Its conciliation machinery consists of the Labour Commissioner, Additional Labour commissioner (IR), Regional Joint Labour commissioners, Deputy Labour Commissioner (HQ) Deputy Labour commissioner (IR), Ernakulam, District Labour Officers (General), Deputy Labour Officers, Assistant Labour Officers Gr.I and Inspectors of Agricultural Labour. The industrial disputes are settled mainly through the intervention of the conciliation officers through the process of conciliation. If conciliation fails, the dispute is referred to adjudication by Labour Courts/ Industrial Tribunals. Besides DLO is the conciliation officers of the Kerala Head Load Workers Act, 1978 with powers to settle/decide disputes.

Industrial Relations Committees
The Government of Kerala, under the chairmanship of Labour commissioner, for maintaining industrial peace and harmony, constitutes the Industrial Relations committees. The members of the IRC are persons having thorough knowledge about the issues experienced by the employers and workmen. Equal number of representatives from employers and trade union are included in the IRC. The Industrial Relations committees through discussions arrive at decisions on wage revision, bonus, service conditions of the workers of the respective industry etc. Though the decisions / settlements of IRC are not enforceable by law, the settlement / decision taken by the committee are considered as a general agreement in the State as a whole. At present 12 Industrial Relations committees are functioning in the State. They are :- 1. IRC for Toddy Tapping Industry 2. Motor Transport Industry. 3. Cashew Industry. 4. Kuttanad Agricultural Sector. 5. Coir Industry. 6. Construction Industry. 7. Beedi and Cigar Industry. 8. Textile Industry. 9. Timber, Plywood, Matches and Saw Mill Industry. 10. Palakkad Agricultural Sector. 11. Plantation Labour Committee. 12. Tripartite Committee for Cardamom Industry.
Minimum Wages Committees

Government constitutes Minimum Wages Committee for fixing and revising minimum rates of wages under section 5 (I) of the Minimum Wages Act 1948. Minimum Wages Advisory Board also advises Govt. in this regard.

Employments in the Minimum Wages Act 1948

(a) Employments originally included in the schedule
1. Employment in any woolen carpet making or shawl weaving establishment.
2. Employment in any rice mill, flour mill or dhal mill.
3. Employment in any tobacco (including beedi making manufactory).
4.Employment in any plantation that is to say any estate which is maintained for the purpose of growing cinchona, rubber, tea, coffee and cardamom.
5. Employment in any oil mill.
6. Employment under any local authority.
7. Employment in the construction or maintenance of roads or in building operations.
8. Employment in stone breaking or stone crushing.
9. Employment in Lac manufactory (not fixed).
10. Employment in mica works (not fixed).
11. Employment in Public motor transport.
12. Employment in tanneries and leather manufactory. (b) Employments subsequently added to the schedule by the State Govt.
13. Employment in manufacture of coir.
14. Employment in cashew.
15. Employment in salt pan (not fixed).
16. Employment in water boat transport other than motor boat transport (not fixed).
17. Employment in printing presses.
18. Employment in the tile manufactory.
19. Employment in toddy tapping industry.
20. Employment in match industry.
21. Employment in shops and establishments (including hotels and restaurants).
22. Employment in timber.
23. Employment in brick manufactories.
24. Employment in banks (not fixed).
25. Employment in handloom.
26. Employment in plywood.
27. Employment in minor ports.
28. Employment for works in forests.
29. Employment in rubber products.
30. Employment in minor engineering.
31. Employment in the construction or maintenance of dams.
32. Employment in fish peeling, fish canning freezing and exporting of seafood and frog legs.
33. Employment in the hill produce.
34. Employment in the manufacture of ayurvedic and allopathic medicine.
35. Employment in the power loom and (excluding the workers employed in power loom section of the cotton textile mills).
36. Employment in the handling and care of elephants.
37. Employment in drying of coconut for making them copra.
38. Employment in hosiery manufactory.
39. Employment in ice factories.
40. Employment in the manufacture and sale of umbrellas.
41. Employment in hostels.
42. Employment in rubber crop mills.
43. Employment in liquor trading and vending. 44. Employment in the cinema theatres.
45. Employment in crumb rubber factories.
46. Employment in collection of river sand its loading and unloading.
47. Employment in the manufacture of aluminum and tin products.
48. Employment in light motor vehicles.
49. Employment in oil palm plantations.
50. Employment in marble and granite.
51.Employment in food processing and in toffee, bakery coming under the Factories Act, ice creams, soft drinks etc.
52. Employment in electric equipment, home appliances and operation of software systems.
53. Employment in soap manufactory.
54. Employment in computer software.
55. Employment in plastic.
56. Employment in wire cut bricks.
57. Employment in screen printing.
58. Employment in handicrafts.
59. Employment in garment making.
60. Employment in film production (cancelled as per Go (R+) 468/02/LBR dated 2-2-02 in the schedule of firms Act).
61. Employment in diamond cutting and polishing.
62. Employment in khadi.
63. Employment in cane and bamboo. 64. Employment in security service.
65. Employment in mechanized fish catching.
66. Employment in production of motion pictures and Tele films.
67. Employment in private educational institutions (non teaching).
68. Employment in private hospitals, dispensaries, pharmacies, clinical laboratories, scanning centers, X-ray units and other allied institutions.
69. Employment in LPG (cooking gas).
70. Employment in electronic industry including export processing zone.
71. Employment in sales promotion of pharmaceutical products.
72. Employment in petrol pumps.
73. Employment in star hotels.

List of employment for which minimum wages has been fixed so far
1. Agricultural Operations
2.Ayurvedic and Allopathic Medicines.
3. Beedi and Cigar Industry
4. Bricks Manufacturing
5. Block Rubber Factories
6. Coir Industry
7. Cashew Industry
8. Climbing of Arecanut Trees & in Dairy Farming
9. Cinema Industry
10. Construction, Maintenance of roads or in Building Operations, and Stone Breaking and Stone Crushing.
11. Drying of Coconut making for Copra
12. Fish Peeling, Fish Canning
13. Employment in Forest
14. Handling and Care of Elephants.
15. Hostels
16. Hill Producing Industry
17. Handloom Industry
18. Hosiery Industry
19. Ice Factories
20. Liquor Trading & Vending Industry
21. Light Motor Vehicles
22. L.P. Gas (Cooking) Agencies
23. Match Industry
24. Minor Ports
25. Minor Engineering Industry
26. Minor Engineering in Handloom Industry
27. Manufacture and Sale of Umbrellas
28. Oil Milling Industry
29. Oil Palm Plantations
30. Pharmacists in Medical Shops
31. Private Hospital (Dietician) (Amendment)
32. Printing Press
33. Plantations
34. Private Hospitals and Allied Institutions
35. Power loom Industry
36. Rice Mill, Flour Mill and Dhal Mills
37. Rubber Products Industry
38. Rubber Crepe Mills
39. River Sand Collection and its Loading and Unloading
40. Shops and Establishments
41. Tile Industry
42. Timber and Plywood Industry
43. Today Tapping Industry

Enforcement

Enforcement of the various labour legislations is mainly carried out through 100 Assistant Labour Officers (Grade II) and 10 Inspectors of Plantations. The Assistant Labour Officers are controlled and supervised by 11 District Labour Officers (E) in the Districts except in Idukki, Wayanad and Pathanamthitta where District Labour Officers (G) is entrusted with the enforcement functions also. A state Advisory Contract Labour Board has been constituted and functioning in the State for advising the Govt. in the matter of abolition of contract labour.

The Inspectors of Plantations are functioning under the Chief Inspector of Plantations, an Officer in the cadre of Joint Labour Commissioner, whose headquarters is at Kottayam. The chief Inspector and the 10 Inspectors of Plantations function as a separate Inspectorate for enforcement of Plantations Labour Act 1951 and other labour laws applicable to Plantations in the State. The Assistant Labour Officers are the notified inspectors under 18 Labour Legislations. The Assistant Labour Officers and the District Labour Officers (E) are supervised and controlled by three Regional Joint Labour Commissioner at Kollam, Ernakulam and Kozhikode.

The Additional Labour Commissioner (E) in the office of the Labour Commissioner has overall supervisory charge of the enforcement officers in the state. Besides this, the Labour Commissioner and all other officers in the Labour Commissionerate are empowered to carry out the functions of inspectors under all the 18 legislations mentioned above. A District Labour Officer (HQ) in the Office of the Labour Commissioner is functioning as the Inspector of News paper establishments, for the whole state.
For effective functioning of the enforcement wing, the inspections in establishments are streamlined in such a way that the establishments employing 50 to 250 employees are being inspected by the District Labour Officers (E) while establishments employing more than 250 employees are put in charge inspected by the Regional Joint Labour Commissioners. Special inspection squads for Cashew Industry constituted with the co-operation of different departments, like Provident Fund, E.S.I. etc. have played a very significant role in ensuring various benefits payable to the Cashew Workers in the State.

Quasi-Judicial Functions

All the Deputy Labour Commissioners except Deputy Labour Commissioner (IR), Ernakulam and Dy.Labour Commissioner (HQ) are acting as authorities exclusively dealing quasi-judicial functions under the labour enactments given below:-       1. Workmens' Compensation Act.
2. Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act (Shop appeal).
3. Claims under Minimum Wages Act.
4. Kerala Payment of Subsistence Allowance Act.
5. Kerala Casual Temporary and Badli workers Act.
6. Kerala Industrial Employment (Standing orders) Act. The Regional Joint Labour Commissioners are functioning as Appellate Authorities under the Kerala Head Load workers Act, Payment of Gratuity Act, Kerala Industrial Employment (standing orders) Act, etc. The DLOS are the controlling authority under the Payment of Gratuity Act, and Conciliation Officer under the Kerala Head Load Workers Act for settling / deciding disputes under the said Act besides other functions.