Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 1996, publiée 85ème session CIT (1997)

Convention (n° 1) sur la durée du travail (industrie), 1919 - Inde (Ratification: 1921)

1. Further to its direct request of 1994, the Committee reminds the Government that it has not yet commented on the allegations of non-observance of the Convention made by the Calcutta Dock Workers' Union, to the effect that, since 1982, the escorts and guards employed by Coal India Ltd. have to work for 24 hours continuously without any break.

2. The Committee notes the communication from the Mahabubnagar District Palamoori Contract Labour Union to the effect that workers in the Palamoori district work 12 hours per day and that overtime is not remunerated at the proper rates. The Committee likewise notes the comments of the Bijli Mazdoor Panchayat which also complains of a 12-hour working day and the lack of proper overtime remuneration for the employees of the thermal power station belonging to the Gujarat Electricity Board. In its reply, the Government states that the working conditions which the Bijli Mazdoor Panchayat objected to affect not the workers at the thermal power station, but self-employed workers known as mukadams, who are under contract to the Shital Traders company to separate burnt coal ash from flowing water. They work an 8-hour day on average and the company pays them piece-work rates per ton of coal ash separated. The Government adds that the trade union has filed a complaint with the judicial court against Shital Traders for breach of the Factories Act, and a complaint on the same matter with the Gujarat High Court. The Committee requests the Government to keep the ILO informed of further action in this matter and to provide copies of any judgements or decisions handed down by the courts examining the cases.

3. Furthermore, the Committee recalls its observation of 1993 which read as follows:

The Committee notes that Chapter XIV of the Railways Act, 1989, contains the main rules for the working time of railroad personnel. It asks the Government to provide a copy of the provisions contained in Chapter XIV. The Committee further notes that the Government has initiated action to frame rules and subsidiary instructions in accordance with these provisions. It asks the Government to keep it fully informed of progress made in this respect.

The Committee notes the circular dated 13 April 1992 addressed to the general managers of the All Indian Railways, in which statutory hours of work for "essentially intermittent" work are set at 75 hours per week. The Government has supplied no information on consultations held with the organizations of employers and workers concerned before the adoption of these work schedules. The Committee would like to underline the importance of such consultations, required under Article 6, paragraph 2, of the Convention, and trusts that the Government will not fail to engage in such consultations when establishing work schedules for workers performing preparatory, complementary and essentially intermittent work.

In this connection, the Committee notes the comments of the Central Railway Mazadoor Sangh, requesting 8-hour shifts for cabinmen, levermen, pointsmen and gatemen. The Government indicates that their work was classified to be "essentially intermittent", with periods of inaction aggregating to six hours or more in a tour of 12 hours of duty. However, the Central Railway Mazadoor Sangh claims that they were servicing approximately 20 to 40 trains in 12 hours, i.e. a traffic ten times greater than it was when the British rules were adopted. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide the results of the most recent job analysis concerning this group of workers.

Lastly, the Committee notes, further to its previous observations, that the Government will soon take a decision in reply to the observations of the Bharatiya Mazadoor Sangh, which considered the special provisions contained in Article 10 to be discriminatory against India, and invited the Government to consider denouncing the Convention or to take an initiative aimed at revising it.

4. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the points raised above.

The Government is asked to report in detail in 1997.