Organised industry not affected by labour laws

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: has been in force since 1970, seeks to abolish contractual employment in activities and processes, which are identified as core or perennial, and additionally seeks to regulate contract employment in other peripheral activities. Although one of the main aims of the Act was to reduce the use of contract labour in industries, what is emerging is quite contrary to that.

Available data and field-level evidences show a considerable increase in the deployment of contract labour, especially in the organised industry. Given that widespread adoption of modern technology and rise of outsourcing have significantly blurred the distinction between the core and the peripheral work, there is a case towards recognition of contractual employment as a reality and shifting the emphasis of the Contract Labour Act, from abolition to that of regulation. However, it must be emphasised that such an option must be considered with the caveat that the working conditions of contract workers are improved by guaranteeing adequate safeguards on wages, social security and a minimum tenure. There is an urgent need for the deliberation pertaining to labour reforms to go beyond the domain of labour flexibility. This is crucial from the perspective of situating labour policies at the centre of macro-economic policy.