Source: The Indian Express

LABOUR LAWS IN INDIA

1. Context

2. Key takeaways

• In addition to being the starting point of the possible onset of another scorching summer, the month of April also witnessed two important happenings that are tied to the country’s avowed economic-industrial transformation, demanding our attention.
• The first was the passage of a piece of legislation in the Tamil Nadu Assembly that amended the Factory Act of 1948, to extend the number of working hours in a day, from eight hours to 12 hours.
• A similar piece of legislation was passed in the Karnataka Assembly, a few months ago. However, in his address during the May Day celebrations in Chennai, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin, announced the withdrawal of the legislation.
• This announcement comes on the back of the temporary hold on further action on the Bill by the Tamil Nadu government, after strong opposition; this includes the State government’s alliance partners and trade unions. 

3. What are labour Laws?

• Labour law is a body of laws and regulations which deals with the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations.
• It mediates multifaceted aspects of the relationship between the stakeholders: trade unions, employers, and employees.
• Labour law defines the rights and obligations of workers, union members, and employers in the workplace.
• Generally, labour law covers Industrial relations – certification of unions, labour-management relations, collective bargaining, and unfair labour practices; Workplace health and safety; Employment standards, including general holidays, annual leave, working hours, unfair dismissals, minimum wage, layoff procedures, and severance pay.

4. Why there is a need to have Labour Laws?

• It brings in effect a legal system to facilitate organizations and collective employment relationships resulting in a productive economy;
• It provides a framework for the employers, workers and, their representatives to interact about work-related issues.
• It acts as a vehicle for achieving harmonious industrial relations based between the stakeholders;
• It provides a guarantee of fundamental principles and rights at work that have received broad social acceptance.
• It also establishes the processes through which these principles and rights can be enforced.

5. Evolution of Labour laws in India

• The industrial/labour legislation enacted by the British was primarily intended to protect the interests of British employers.
• Considerations of British economic interests were the priorities in shaping some of these early laws.
• The Factories Acts, 1883 and 1893- It was the first labour law by the British which stipulated eight hours of work, the abolition of child labour, the restriction of women in night employment, and the introduction of overtime wages for work beyond eight hours.
• The earliest Indian statute to regulate the relationship between an employer and his workmen was the Trade Dispute Act, of 1929 (Act 7 of 1929).
• Provisions were made in this Act for restraining the rights of strike and lockout but no machinery was provided to take care of disputes.

• Free India’s labour law framework began with the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 as independent India called for a clear partnership between labour and capital.
• The base of this partnership was unanimously approved in a tripartite conference in December 1947.
• It was at this conference that labour would be given a fair wage and working conditions and in return, capital would receive the harmonious cooperation of labour for uninterrupted production and higher productivity as part of the strategy for national economic development.

6. Changes in labour laws

• The eight-hour working day, adopted by the International Labour Organization in 1919, is a hard-won right by workers and trade unions, who have had to struggle over the years to keep capricious policy changes at bay.
• While appreciating the action initiated by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, the passage, in the first place, of these pieces of legislation (which has justifiably led to anger and outcry among trade unions and labour support groups) signals the intent of governments to house investments by transnational corporations (through their supply chains), by ramping up capacities and provisioning incentives.
• As a matter of fact, these legislative changes could trace their legacy to the four labour codes passed by the central government in 2019-20, which, in turn, have weakened the labour protection architecture, lowered thresholds and squeezed collective bargaining, thereby effectively curtailing their actual operability.
• The key missing component in all these changes in the labour ecosystem is social dialogue.
• Not only are sustained processes of consultations with workers being shortcircuited or ignored altogether but these are also being considered anathema by almost all ruling dispensations irrespective of political persuasions.

7. Apple opening two retail stores in India

• The second development in April which was widely publicised with much fanfare was Apple’s opening of its first two retail stores in India, in Mumbai and then Delhi in the presence of the Apple CEO who was in India for the events.
• Last year, expressed bullishness about the brand’s business prospects in India, which was lapped up and trumpeted as a sign of India is well and truly in the race to run parallel with China, if not completely eclipse it in the long run.
• However, cutting through the hype, what is left unsaid is how Apple, and by extension, other transnational corporations too, thrive by tantalising a race between India and China.

8. Considering mainland China as a template

• The two happenings in April may seem separate, but from a labour-centric perspective, it is only rational to spot the connection.
• Already, under its ‘Make in India initiative’ and later with the Production Linked Incentives scheme, the central government aims to turn the country into a manufacturing hub, like China. In this larger design, the electronics industry has received top priority and, within it, Apple (entwined with Foxconn as the main supplier) has come to be considered, the gold standard.
• In line with this, the central government has been working in close coordination with various State governments, including Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, to work out common strategies to capitalise on the company’s diversification plans away from China.
• For years, Foxconn has had a stable base in Tamil Nadu (encouraging other Taiwanese companies in other sectors as well).
• As a part of its corporate social responsibility obligations, it has even reciprocated by making massive financial contributions to the State government’s educational initiatives. 
• Such coordination and mobilising efforts by governments resemble the symbiotic relationship between Apple Foxconn and the Chinese Communist Party state. 

Previous year Question

EXTRACTING DNA

1. Context

Inside a Siberian cave that has been an archaeological treasure trove, an elk's canine tooth pierced to become a pendant was unearthed by scientists with care to avoid contaminating this intriguing artefact made roughly 20, 000 years ago.

The Pristine collection of pendants from Denisova Cave paid dividends.

Scientists said a new method for extracting ancient DNA identified the object's long-ago owner as a Stone Age woman closely related to a population of hunter-gatherers known to have lived in a part of Siberia east of the cave site in the foothills of the Altai Mountains in Russia.

 

2. New Method of isolating DNA

• The method can isolate DNA that was present in skin cells, sweat or other bodily fluids and was absorbed by certain types of porous material including bones, teeth and tusks when handled by someone thousands of years ago.
• Objects used as tools or for personal adornment pendants, necklaces, bracelets rings and the like can offer insight into past behaviour and culture, though our understanding has been limited by an inability to tie a particular object to a particular person.
• These objects made in the deep past are extremely fascinating since they allow us to open a small window to travel back and have a glance into these people's lives.

Image source: CNN

3. Excavations

• The researchers who found the pendant which was determined to be 19, 000- 25, 000 years old, used gloves and face masks when excavating and handling it, avoiding contamination with modern DNA.
• It became the first prehistoric artefact linked by genetic sleuthing to a specific person. It is unknown whether the woman made or merely wore it.
• In holding such an artefact in her own gloved hands, she felt "transported back in time, imagining the human hands that had been created and used thousands of years ago.
• The pendant's maker drilled a hole in the tooth to allow for some sort of now-lost cordage. The tooth alternatively could have been part of a headband or bracelet.

4. The oldest object located by humans

• Our species Homo sapiens first arose more than 300, 000 years ago in Africa, later spreading worldwide.
• The oldest-known objects used as personal adornments date to about 100, 000 years ago from Africa.
• Denisova Cave long ago was inhabited at different times by the extinct human species called Denisovans, Neanderthals and our species.
• The cave over the years has yielded remarkable finds, including the first-known remains of Denisovans and various tools and other artefacts.
• The new non-destructive research technique used at a "clean room" laboratory in Leipzig works much like a washing machine.
• In this case, an artefact is immersed in a liquid that works to release DNA from it much as a washing machine lifts dirt from a blouse.
• By linking objects with particular people, the technique could shed light on prehistoric social roles and the division of labour between the sexes or clarify whether or not an object was even made by our Species. 
• Some artefacts have been found in places that are known to have been inhabited, for instance, by Homo Sapiens and  Neanderthals simultaneously.
• This study opens huge opportunities to better reconstruct the role of individuals in the past according to their sex and ancestry.

For Prelims: DNA, Homo Sapiens, Neanderthals, Siberian cave, Archaeological treasure, Denisova Cave, Altai Mountains,  Russia,

 

Previous Year Questions   1. With reference to the recent developments in science, which one of the following statements is not correct? (UPSC 2019) A. Functional chromosomes can be created by joining segments of DNA taken from cells of different species. B. Pieces of artificial functional DNA can be created in laboratories. C. A piece of DNA taken out from an animal cell can be made to replicate outside a living cell in a laboratory. D. Cells taken out from plants and animals can be made to undergo cell division in laboratory petri dishes   Answer: A   2. Consider the following statements: (UPSC 2020) 1. Genetic changes can be introduced in the cells that produce eggs or sperms of a prospective parent. 2. A person’s genome can be edited before birth at the early embryonic stage. 3. Human induced pluripotent stem cells can be injected into the embryo of a pig. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? A.1 only     B.  2 and 3 only     C. 2 only      D.  1, 2 and 3   Answer: D   3. What is homo sapiens?  (HP  TET 2013) A. Human B. Animal C. Chimpanzee D. None of the above   Answer: A   4. When you travel in the Himalayas, you will see the following (UPSC 2012) 1. Deep gorges 2. U-turn river courses 3. Parallel mountain ranges 4. Steep gradients causing land-sliding Which of the above can be said to be the evidence for the Himalayas being young fold mountains? A. 1 and 2 only     B.  1, 2, and 4 only     C.  3 and 4 only        D. 1, 2, 3 and 4   Answer: D 5. With reference to the art and archaeological history of India, which one among the following was made earliest?  (UPSC 2015) A. Lingaraja Temple at Bhubaneshwar B. Rock-cut Elephant at Dhauli C. Rock-cut Monuments at Mahabalipuram D. Varaha Image at Udayagiri   Answer: B 6. The word 'Denisovan' is sometimes mentioned in media in reference to (UPSC 2019) A. fossils of a kind of dinosaurs B. an early human species C. a cave system found in North-East India D. a geological period in the history of the Indian subcontinent   Answer: B

 

Source: The Indian Express