The Odisha Dadan Labour (Control and Regulation) Act, 1975

'ITHE ORISSA DADAN LABOUR (CONTROL AND REGULATION) ACT, 19751 [Received the assent of the Presiden i OR the 8th October-1975, fiusb published in an extra- ~t.di~rary ~ S S Z L P of the Orissa Gazette, dmted the 29th October. 19751 AN ACT TO REGULATE THE RECRUITMENT OF LAB- OURERS FROM THE STATE TO WORK OUTSIpE THE STATE AND FOR MATTERS INCIDENTAL THERETO Be it enacted by the Legislature of @e SQte of Orissa in the Twenty-sixth Year of the Republic of India, as follows :- CHAPTER I I I. ( I ) This Act may be called the Orissa Dadan Short title, I Labour (Control and Regulation) Act, 1975. cxtcnt and W ~ W I P ment. I (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Orissa, (3) It shall coma in to force2 on such date as the Statc Government may, by ~gF-$cation, appoint and different dates may be appbinted for different provi- sions of this Act. 2. In this Act, unless the cont,ex otherwiseregu$es,- ;, ., 7 . (a) ogent " means a person .who re- ' ' cmitq dnda,n 09 behalf of an employer for any work carried on out- side 'the St? re af Orissa and iqcludes a con- tractor, sub-contractor, Khatadar, Sardar and persois with similar deignation who make such recruitment; (b) "chief I~~spector" rncaas the Chief Inspec- tor appointed under section 13; (c) "CompetentAuthority"~ans a Competent- Authority appointed under section 12; I . +--.- -- I . For Szarcmenl of Objects md Rcasans see On- Gazerre, Ex(modinary, I daicd the 171h Match,. 1975 ( NO. 496 ). 2. Came into rorcewithcff+t from the 1st January 1976-VideS. R. Q. Np. 983175 dsttd the 18th Drr~mber, 1975 published in thc ?;ha Gazct,r$. EXttaorditwy datcd thc 25th December, 1975 ( No. 2027); . , 801 , , [ 10 1- 73(a) Law 1 THE ORISSA DADAN LAROUR [Or. Act (d) "dadan labourer" means a person recruited on the basis of a contract (cithcr cxpross or implied) froln the State of Orissa for doing any skilled, semi-skilled or un-skilled manual work outside the State; (e) "employer" means the pcrson for whom a dadan labourer is under the terms of an agreement (either express or i rn plied), bound to work; (f) "establishment" in relation to an agent means the place or places where arly records relating to the agency are kept; (g) ' ' In~pe~tor ' ' rn~an~ an inspector appointed under tbis Act. (h)"prescribed" means prescribed by lzrlcs made under this Act; (i) " registering aut horj ty" means he register- ing authority appointed under section 3; (j) ccregi~tfation certificate" mcans t Ile certific- ate of registration granted under section 5; (k) Ccrules'' means rules made under this Act. REGTSTRATION OF AGENTS ~ppainlment : 3. The State Government may, by an 'order nolifi- of registering authority. ed in the Official Gazette- , I - (a) appoint an officer or officers, as they think f i t . to be registering authorities for t]le purposes, of ,this Chapter; and (b) define the limits, within which registering authority shall exercise the powers confer- . red on him by or utlder this.Act. - NO w o n 1 0 4. No 'person shaII, after i he comn~enccrne~~t of acl as agefit , ~ t h o d rcgi- this Act, act as an agent without being registered as stni i~n. such and except under and in accordance with n regi- stration certificate issued in that behalf, Rcgislcarion 5. (1) Every zgent who is acting as such imme- ofagcnts. diately prior to the commencement of this Act shall make an application within sixty days from the said date, to the registering authority in the prescribed manner for his registration: 42 of. 19751 ( C O N I ' R O L A N I ) R E G U L A T I O N ) A ~ T , ~ ~ ~ ~ 893 .provided that the registering authority may entertain any such application for registration after expiry of the said period,if it isstaisfied tbatthe applkant was prevented by sufficient cause from making the applicatinn in time. (2) Any person who desires to act as an agent may also make an application for his registration to the rezistcring nuthority in thc pres cribed manner. (3) Every application for registration shaIl be made in such form and shaIl be accompanied by such fees a s may be prescribed and shall be presented in I . t h e -office.'of the registering authority.' (4)' Where the application for registration is corbplete In a11 respects, the registering authority shall register the zgent and issue to the agent a ccrt ilicate of registration containing such particulars as may be prescribed and slzall enter the particulars relating to the' agcnt as contained in the application for rcgktration in - a rcgisiel. t o be maintained in the prescribed form. (5) A registration certificate shall be valid till the end of a calender year dzr ring which it is issued and may be renewed for a period of one year on presen- tation of an applica tioil to t he registering authority in such form ,and on payment- of such' fees as' may be prescribed and every such application shall be presented not less t llan two months before the expiry of the registration certificate : Provided that the registering authority may entcrtain an application for the renewal of a regis- ti'ation certscate arter the last date for presentation of the application if the application is made before the expiry of the registration cetificate and is accom- panied by an additional fee e q ~ ~ a l to twenty-five per- cent of the fees for renewal. (6) Where the application is not complete in all respects, the registering authority shall. return the same to the applicant within fifteen days of receipt of the application pointing oui the defects for recti- fication and re-submission within fifteen days of its receipt by the agent. 6. If the registering authority is satisfied, either on p z ; l ; n that a reference made to it in this behalf or otherwise, ,,,ion In (a) the mgistratio~~ of the agent has been certain - obtained by mj srcpresell ta tion or suppre- ssion of any material Tact ; or (b) the agent has contravehed any iof the . , provisions of tEis Act or the rules fiade thtreunder; or (c) for any reason the registration has become useless or ineffective and, therefore, requires to be revoked, he may ,. after giving an opportunity to the agent to be beard, revoke the registration. Appeal 7. (1) Any person aggrieved by an order niade under section 5 or section 6 may, within thi'rty days from the date on which the order is communicated to . . hiin, ,prefer an appeal to an appeJIati: authority :ap$ointed in that behalf by the 'State Government: Provided that the appellate authorily may enf er- tain .the appeal after the expiry of said ptr idt l bf thirty ' days, if it is satisfied that the appcflant w a s I I prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time. (2) On receipt of an appeal under sub-section (I), the, appellate authority shall, after giving the appellant an opportunity of being heard, dispose of the appeal as expditiousIy as possible. Rcgistcr tn 8. Every registered agent shall maintain a regist'& be maintain- in the prescribed form, showing- ed bv a r&ishrcb agent. (a) the name, father's name, age and address of the dadan labourer recruited by him; the name and address bf the eniployer; (c) place and nature of work ; (d) brief description of the agreeitient ;and (e) such other particulars as may be prescribed. CHAPTER XIX CONDITIONS OF RECRUITMENT A b h WELFARE OF DADAN LABOURER Condilio ns 9. (1 ) No agent shall recruit any dadan labourer Of mcnt *cr$' with^^ t enbring into an agreement with him in the dadan rescri bed form. Iahaurer. P (2) The recruitment of a dadan labourer shall be stibje~t to the fo l lowjn~ terms and conditions, namely: - (a) the rate of wages payable to the dadan labourer shall in zio case be less than the minimum rate of wage fixed under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 in respect of e~nployees engaged in work similar in nature to that performed by the dadan Iabourer and in relation to the 'local area wherein such labourer is required to work; (h) the conditions relating to hours of work, day of rest and payment for work on a day of i-est shall not be less favoui-able . than those provided for under the aforesaid Act in respect of employees engaged. ih work similar in nature to that performed by the dadan labourer and in relation to the local area wherein such labouter is required to work; and (c) such other conditions as may be prescribed. I 10. The liabilily to WOT k under the agreement ~ $ ! ~ ' ~ ~ LE 1 between the agent and the dadan Iabourer sballextinsuished stand extinguisrhed on the expiry of the period O" the expiry period specified in such agreement : of agree- - mmt. Provided that the extinguishment of the liability to work shall in no way affect the other rights and liabilities, ijf the parties to the agreement. 11. The agent shall, be liable for payment of a11 ~~~~~ 2 dues accruing to a dadan Iabourer in accordance with pay the dues the ktms of the agreement. of Iabourar. Recovery of 12. (1) The State Governmet may, by noti- fication in the Official Gazette, appoint any officer of the Labour De-partment of the State Government not below the rank of an Assistaht Labour Commis- sioner or any other oEcer with judicial experience as a Judge of a Civil Court or any Subdivisional Judicial Magistrate to be the competent authority having jur~sdrct~on over such area as may be specified in the notjfication.to hear and decide claims arising out of any agreement Cntered into between the agent and the dadan labourer in pursuance of section 9. THE ORISSA DADAN LABOUR [Or, Act- . , I (2) Where any agent or any dadan labourer has ally claim c 7 f the nature referred la in sub-sectron 1 I, the claimant himself, or any person authorised by him in writing in this behalf or in the case of the deathof theclaimant, any member ofhis family or ab inspector may, wilhout prejudice io any other mode of recovery, make an application tc the competent authority for computation of the dues of Lhe claimant : Provided that every such application shall be presented within six months from the date on which the dues become payable : Provided further that an application may be enterlained by the competent authority after the expiry of the said period of six months if it is satisfied ihat the claimant was prevented by suficicn t cause from making the application in time. (3) When any application under sub-section (2) i s entertained, the competent authority shaII, afier giving the concerned parties and such other persons as it considers to be interested a reasonable oppor- tunity of being heard and after making such fur thcr enquiry as i t may consider necessary, compute the dues of the claimant. (4) If the competent authority, while hcaring an application under this section, is satisfied that the application is either malicious or vexatious, i t may direct that a penalty not exceeding fifty rupees be to the person against whom the claim is made by the person presenting tbe application. (5) Any amount due to the claimant as compu- ted by the competent authority may be recovered- (u) if the competent authority is a Magistrate, by it as if it were a fine imposed by it as a Magistrate ; or if the competent ailthority is not a Magi- strate, by the jssue of a certificate by it for that amount to the Collector, and the Collector shalI proceed to recover that amount in the same manner as an arrear of public demand. (6) All orders made unrler this section shall bc finaI arrd shall not bc liable to bc challcngcd in any Court. (7) Every compelent authority appointed under sub-section ( I ) shalI have the same powers as arc vested in a Court under I he Code of Civil Procedure, Igo8 1908 when trying a suit in respect of- (a) sum111oning and enforcir~g the atlcnda~lce of witnesses and cxarnining them on oath ; (b) requiring the discovery and prodaction of documents ; (c) receiving evidence on affidavit ; and (d) such other mattcrs as may be prescribed. (8) Every competent authority slialI be dce~z~ed to be a'CiviI Court for the purposes of section- 195 and Chapter XXVI of thc Code of Criminal Procc- lY7" dure, 1973. CHAPTER IV APPOINTMENT, POWERS AND DUTIES OF CHEF INSPECTOR AND INSPECTORS 13. ( 1) The State Government may, be not ificatio~~, l , ~ g $ ~ ~ r a p p ~ i n t a -Chief Tnspcctor who shall be the chid p t ~ t ~ ~ . . executivr! authority for the purpose of carrying out the -provisions of this Act. (2) The State Government may, by notif cation, appoint such pzrsons aq they think fit to be inspectors fm. the purposes,.of this Act and define the local lii~~its within ivhich they shall exercise their powers under this Act. (3) In addition to any power conferred on the Chief 111spector by or under this Act, he may exe~cise al l or any of the powers of an Inspector. 14. (1) Subject to tho rules made in th is bcllnlf, an P J ~ V C ~ ~ or Inspector may, within the local limits, ,of his jurisdi- ction ,- (a) make such examinations of the rccords and registers ~naintaintd by an agent and take the statement of any person as may be deemed fiecessary for carrying out the pro- visions of this Act ; THE ORISSA DADAN LABOUR 1. Or, Aat (b) seize or take copies of such records as he may consider relevant in respect of an offence which Ile has reasons to believe to have been committed under this Act ; (c) exercise such other powers as may be prescribed, (2) Any person required to produce any docrt- merit or thing or to give anv inrormation required by an Inspector shall be deemed to bc legally bound to do so within the mearijng of section 175 and sec- tion 176 of the Indian Penal Code, 450r18Go , - . , . Inspectors to 15. The Chief Inspector and every Inspector he public Sprvants, appoirhed under section 13 shall be deemcd to be a public servant within the meaning of sectiog 21 .of the Indian Penal Code. 45 OF ISGO j A ~ C ~ I bound 16. I ) Every agent shall, on demand, produce 10 product for inspection by an Inspector all registers and i 'EcOrds. rcwrds required to be kept undcr this Act aqd tbe rule made thereunder. (2) Where the agent fails to produce fnr inspec- tion any register rcco~d before an Insp.ectpr on demand, it shall be presumed that the ' agent hqs go ,egister or record to produce and the Insp-stor s hall P roceed with the inspectipn accordjngIy. CHAPTER V PEANALTZES AND PROCEDURES ORence 17. Whoever contravenes any of the provisions OF f bis Act, shall bc punishable with imprisoment fur a tern1 which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, ,or wiQ both. 18. (1) No prosecution under this Act shall be CO"imnce or instituted cxccpt with the previous sanction of the orneaces. Chief Inspector. (2) No Court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under this Act, save on complaint made by an hspetor or the Chief Inspector. CHAPTER V I Protection of 19. (1 ) No suit, prosecution or orther legal . actlons taken proceeding shall l i e against any ofEcer of the Govern- Undct this ment for an j thing which is in good faith done or Act- intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rule or order ~nadc thereunder. (2) No suit or other legal proceeding shall Iie against the Government for any damage caused or IikeIy to be caused by anything which is in good faith clone or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act dr any rule or order made thereunder. 20. (1) The State Government may, subject t ~ , ~ ~ $ . ~ the condition of previous publication, make rules for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely : - (n) the form and manner of making an application to the registering authority for registration of an agent ; (b) fees for registration and renewal of regist- ration of a n agent ; (c) the form and manner of making application for renewal of registration of an agent ; ( d ) form of registration certificate to be issued to the agent ; (e) the records and registers to be maintained by an agent for the purpose of securing com- pliance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thertunder and the particulars to be entered therein; (f ) the form of agreement to be entered into between the agent and the dadan labourer ; ( g ) other particulars artd conditions to be fulfilled with regard to recruitment of dadan labourers ; 1102-73 (a) Law] 810 D m ORJSSA DADAN LABOUR ( CONTROL A K D [Or. Act, 42 REGULATION) ACT, 1975 of 19751 (11) the submission of returns by the agent to the registering authority ; ( i ) the powers which may be conferred on the Inspectors aud the Chief Inspector under this Act and their functions ; ( j ) form of register to be maintained by the registering authority ; and (k) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed. (3) All xules made under this Act shall, as soon as may be after they are made, be laid before the State Legislature for a total period of fourteen days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions and if during the said period the State Legislature makes modifications, if any, therein, the rules shall tbereafter have eBect only in such modified form ; so, however, that such modifications shall be without prejudice to the validity of anytling previously done under the rules.