Amendment of the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979

The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to amend the title of the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 to ‘Inter State Migrant Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979’ by introducing a Bill, namely the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2011 (Appendix-III) (page 6 to 7) in the ensuing session of Parliament. 

The Act provides for regulating the employment of inter-state migrant workmen and their conditions of service. 

The Act will become gender neutral by amending its title and replacing the word ‘workman and workmen’ by the words ‘worker and workers’ respectively. 

Background: 

The system of employment of inter-state migrant labour is an exploitative one. To safeguard the interests of migrant workers, the Government enacted the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979. The Task Force constituted for amendment of labour laws concerning women and children, recommended that the title of the Act may be changed in order to make it gender neutral. This recommendation of the Task Force has been accepted and amendment in the title of the Act changing it as ‘the Inter-State Migrant Worker (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 has been proposed.