Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act,1970

Act No : 37

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Section : Licensing of contractors.

12. Licensing of contractors.- (1) With effect from such date as the appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, no contractor to whom this Act applies, shall undertake or execute any work through contract labour except under and in accordance with a licence issued in that behalf by the licensing officer. (2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a licence under sub- section (1) may contain such conditions including, in particular, conditions as to hours of work, fixation of wages and other essential amenities in respect of contract labour as the appropriate Government may deem fit to impose in accordance with the rules, if any, made under section 35 and shall be issued on payment of such fees and on the deposit of such sum, if any, as security for the due performance of the conditions as may be prescribed.

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advchennai wrote on 21 May 2009

S. 12 imposed a liability not to undertake or execute any work through contract labour without licence, a liability which continued until the licence was obtained and its requirement was complied with. It was an act which continued. Undertaking or executing any work through contract labour without a licence, therefore, constituted a fresh offence everyday on which it continued. Padam Prasad Jain v. State of Bihar, 1978 Lab IC 145.

advchennai wrote on 21 May 2009

Sections 12 & 2(1)(e)(ii)-Where a firm under all agreement undertook the work of holding and storage of another company's materials and for that purpose utilized the services of some labourers employed through sirdars, the firm, its partners and employees could not be prosecuted for not obtaining licence under S. 12 as the firm is an "establishment" within the meaning of S. 2(1)(e)(ii) and not the company's contractor. Assuming the partners and employees of the firm or any of them were principal employers, they could not be both contractors and principal employers in relation to the same establishment. Moreover, each of the sirdars was a contractor within the meaning of the act in relation to the firm i.e. the establishment. The concerned workmen having been supplied through the medium of sirdars, neither the firm nor the partners nor the employees could be deemed to be a contractor in relation to the said workmen. Their liability to take out a licence cannot, therefore, arise. Feroze Sons v. B. C. Basu, (1979) 54, FJR 158 (Cal).

advchennai wrote on 21 May 2009

S. 12-Sub-contractors or 'piece wagers' are equally responsible for obtaining licence and implementing the provisions of the Act and the Rules. Execution of a work in a government project by piece wagers through workers employed by them either directly or through khatedars must be in accordance with the licence obtained under S. 12 (1). Failure to obtain licence will amount to criminal offence punishable under Ss. 16 to 21 read with Rules 41 to 62 of the Rules. Labourers Working on Salal Hydro Project v. State of J & K, (1983) 2 SCC 181: (1983) 1 LLJ 494.

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