Chapter - 2

Section 4 (1) (b)(i)

Particulars of Functions and Duties

1. Functions of the Department

The main functions of the Department are to:

  • Enforce 22 Central Labour Enactments and 4 State Labour Enactments throughout the State.
  • Maintain industrial peace and harmony through conciliation machinery i.e. – settlement of disputes on strikes, lockouts, layoffs, closures, charter of demands, terminations, etc.,
  • Implement Court Awards and Settlements under Sec. 12(3) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947;
  • Enforce various Central and State Labour Laws and Rules there under.
  • Function as Quasi-judicial authorities under Workmen’s Compensation, Payment of Gratuity and Minimum Wages Acts;
  • Fixation and periodical revision, and enforcement of minimum wages to scheduled employments under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, covering the workers in organized and unorganized sectors;
  • Ensure payment of equal remuneration to women workers on par with men workers for same or similar nature of work;
  • ImplementState Action Plan on elimination of employment of child labour and their rehabilitation by enrolling them to SpecialResidentialSchools, etc;
  • Implement National Child Labour Projects of the Government of India for elimination and rehabilitation of child labour;
  • Implement ILO conventions ratified by the Government of India;
  • Implement recommendations of various Wage Boards and other Tripartite bodies for maintenance of Industrial harmony;
  • Implement Central and State Schemes for the welfare of organized and unorganized workers;
  • Conduct election of Trade Unions.
  • Propose amendments to various labour laws in accordance to the changing scenario.

Chapter -3

Section 4(1) (b) (ii)

Powers and Duties of Officers and Employees

Administrative powers of the Commissioner of Labour including powers under the CCA Rules

Commissioner of Labour is the head of the Department;

Commissioner of Labour has to exercise such powers and duties and monitor the work relating to Administration and Accounts as per the Handbook of Office Procedure, Government Orders, Financial Code, Rules and Regulations and also as per the delegation of powers;

Commissioner of Labour is the Appointing Authority for Group-‘C’ & ‘D’ posts as per the Karnataka Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 1957 and consequently, he is empowered to impose all the penalties prescribed under Section 8 of the said Act.

Commissioner of Labour & the Head of the Department is further empowered by the Government as Appointing Authority for Group-‘B’ posts also vide Notification No. DPAR 46 SDA 2008 dated 11-02-10 and thereby delegating the powers to impose penalties prescribed under Section 8 (i) to (iv) of the said Act

Head Office:

1)Commissioner of Labour:

(i) He is the head of the Department. He has to exercise such powers and duties and monitor the work relating to Administration and Accounts as per the Handbook of Office Procedure, Government Orders, Financial Code, Rules and Regulations and also as per the delegation of powers.

(ii) He has to exercise such powers and perform duties in accordance with the powers and duties prescribed under various labour laws for enforcement and disposal of the cases under those laws.

II) Additional Labour Commissioner (Administration): (i) He is next to the Commissioner of Labour and is in charge of Administration.

(ii) He will exercise such powers and perform duties in accordance with the Service Manual, Financial Code and Office Procedure. He will also exercise such powers and perform duties as prescribed for enforcement of various labour laws and disposal of the cases under those laws as allocated.

III) Additional Labour Commissioner (IR): (i) He is next to the Commissioner and is in charge of industrial relation.

(ii) He will exercise such powers and perform duties as laid down under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, for Conciliation and maintaining industrial peace in the State.

(iii) He will exercise such powers and duties for enforcement of various laws and disposal of the cases in respect of those laws allocated to IR Section.

IV Joint Labour Commissioner (Minimum Wages): (i) He is the head of the Section and in charge of matters relating to minimum wages and eradication and rehabilitation of child labour and perform duties as prescribed under the laws allocated to his Section.

(ii) He follows such procedures as prescribed under the government orders, notifications and procedure laid down under the Action Plan.

(iii) He is also the Appellate Authority in relation to Head Office issues under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

V) Deputy Labour Commissioner (P&S):(i) He is in charge of the Publicity and Statistics Section and exercises such powers and performs functions as prescribed under various labour laws.

(ii) He exercises control over the Section in the matter of discharging of business and maintaining discipline. It is his main function to collect and compile the statistics, publish the Karnataka Labour Journal, etc., and to monitor the functioning of the Library for the use of the Department. He is also in charge of the Karnataka Labour Institute, a pioneer institute established for imparting training to the stakeholders. He is also the State Information Officer in relation to Head Office issues under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

VI Assistant Labour Commissioner and Secretary Minimum Wages Advisory Board: Being Member-Secretary, he has to convene the Board meeting, record the minutes and take follow-up action and implement the decision of the Board. It is his responsibility to see that laws and Schemes relating to child labour are enforced. He is also the Member Secretary of the Contract Labour Advisory Board.

VII Labour Officer (Industrial Relations): Heis in charge of the IR Section, whose main function is to monitor the work in the Section, examine the files and to see the correctness of the contents, draft of the file and submit with additional information, if any, with or without modification of the draft or note to the ADLC (IR).

VIII Gazetted Manager/ Managers: They are in charge of the allotted section, wherein, they are required to oversee the work of the Superintendent / case workers of the Section, exercise control and see that the work in the Section goes smoothly without any delay. It is their responsibility to check the delay and ensure the correctness of the noting and drafting, then submit the file to the respective Additional Labour Commissioners /Joint Labour Commissioner / Deputy Labour Commissioner (P & S).

XI Superintendents: Their primary function is to supervise the work of each case worker and to see that each case worker is maintaining prescribed registers and files in accordance with the “Handbook of Office Procedure”. He scrutinizes the files coming before them, ensures the correctness and submits the files to the Gazetted Manager / Manager.

X) Case – workers: Each caseworker is allotted certain subjects, He has to receive the concerned tappal, enter it in the register and build up a file and submit the file to the concerned Superintendent and also perform other works assigned by their officers.

XI Stenographers: He is generally employed on Stenographic work. He is to attend to dictation / typing work. A Stenographer attached to an officer may also be required to act as Personal Assistantand also perform other works assigned by their officer.

XIITypists: Typist attends to typing work and also comparing work. Typist appends their initials with date at the left hand bottom corner of all fair copies typed by them. However, in field offices, in addition, they are required to attend to other works as assigned by their officers.

XIII) Delayats / Jamedar / Peon : Carries files from section to section, maintain cleanliness in the section, stitching of closed files, etc.,

Field Level Officers:

1)Deputy Labour Commissioners: They are the Regional Officers, who exercise powers and functions relating to matter of administration and accounts as per Service Manual, Financial Code, delegation of powers, government orders, notifications, etc., They also exercise powers and perform duties, as defined under the respective labour laws, to implement the provisions of laws and hear & dispose cases where they are notified as Authorities / Inspectors under those Acts.

They are the Appellate Authority under Right to Information Act 2005.

II) Assistant Labour Commissioners:They are the divisional level Officers, who exercise the powers and functions as delegated under the Service Manual, Financial Code, Rules and Regulations, government notifications and as per delegation of powers. They exercise such powers and perform those functions as defined under the relevant labour laws for implementation and disposal of cases under those laws where they are notified as Authorities / Inspectors under the respective laws.

They are the Public Information Officers under Right to Information Act 2005.

III Labour Officers: (i) They are the Officers, whose offices are generally located at the District, exercise the powers and perform the duties in the matter relating to administration and accounts as per the powers and duties delegated under the Service Manual, financial codes, government orders, notifications and delegation of powers.

(ii) They also exercise powers and perform such functions as defined under various labour laws for enforcement of those laws and as well as disposing off those cases, where they are notified as Authorities / Inspectors.

IV) Senior Labour Inspectors / Labour Inspectors: They are ground level enforcing machinery of the Department and they exercise such powers and perform duties as laid down under various labour laws for enforcement of those laws. They exercise powers and perform duties in a manner as laid down under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961, for Registration and Renewal of shops and commercial establishments. They are also Registering Officers for the issue of identity cards as beneficiary under BOCW Act 1996.

Chapter -4

Section 4 (1)(b)(iii)

Procedure followed in the decision making process including channels of supervision and accountability.

I)Case Worker: The Caseworker receives the tappals and maintains the files as per ‘Handbook of Office Procedure’. He attends the letters, either by putting up an existing file or by opening a new file. He has to examine the cases and submit the file to the concerned Superintendent.

II)Superintendent: Has to examine the file and check the prolixity of language and ensure the correctness in the light of the relevant Rules and submit the file to the Manager / Gazetted Manager.

III)Gazetted Manager / Manager: They have to attend the file, ensure its correctness, both with regard to the noting and drafting. They have to check the file – whether the notings are in accordance with the Rules and ensure its correctness and summit the file to the functional head of the Section.

They have to ensure the correctness of the cases in the relevant Rule of law, government orders, notifications and dispose off the same, if, it is a matter disposable at his level. The file, which is required to be sent, has to be submitted with a detailed note, with as much accuracy and clarity as possible and submit the file to the Labour Commissioner through Additional Labour Commissioner (Admn) / Additional Labour Commissioner (IR), Joint Labour Commissioner (MW) , and Deputy Labour Commissioner (P&S)

IV)All the functional heads submit such of those files which are necessary to the Commissioner of Labour. The Commissioner of Labour decides the issue, takes appropriate decision on the file and returns the file to the Section through functional heads.

V)The Officers at the field-level, namely, the Deputy Labour Commissioners, Assistant Labour Commissioners and Labour Officers will examine the file in the light of the relevant laws, government orders, notifications, take appropriate decisions and also pass appropriate orders and will dispose off the cases/files as expeditiously as possible.

Chapter -5

4(1) (b)(iv)

The norms set for the discharge of functions

I)The Department of Labour is a regulatory department regulating various labour laws and exercising quasi-judicial functions for disposing off cases under various labour legislations, Therefore, all officers of various cadres in the Department will have to work according to the statutory norms prescribed under various labour legislations.

II)Various cadres of officers of the Department will have to dispose off the cases in accordance with the target prescribed by the Commissioner of Labour.

Chapter – 6

Section 4 (1) (b)(v)

Rules, Regulations, Instructions, Manuals and Records held or under control or used by employees for discharging functions.

The Department of Labour functions according to the Service Manual, Financial Code and relevant government orders, notifications, etc. Apart from this, Rules and Regulations that are being administered by the Department, the following functions are performed by the different Officers/Sections and the manuals and records with regard to these are held by them:

Head Office:

  1. Commissioner of Labour:
  1. Overall in charge of labour administration in the state of Karnataka, administering 26 Labour Legislations (both Central and State), including the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, the Employees Compensation Act, 1923, etc., besides, being the functional head of the Department, controls overall administration & establishment matters and supervises and monitors the work of the Department.
  2. State Conciliation Officer under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947,
  3. Granting permission for lay-offs/ retrenchments under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947;
  4. Authority for issue of recovery certificate for the amount due to the workers under any Settlement or Award in case such dues are not paid by the Management;
  5. Sanctioning Authority for launching prosecution for violation of Awards, Settlements and other violations of legal provisions;
  6. Planning, implementing, co-ordinating and monitoring the State Action Plan on elimination of Child labour as well as NCL Projects on Child Labour and co-ordinating with international agencies like Unicef, Norad, etc., in this behalf;
  7. Advising Government on labour policy and relevant legislative matters.
  8. Contributing to the functions of the (1) Karnataka State Minimum Wages Advisory Board; (2) Karnataka State Contract Labour Advisory Board; (3) Karnataka Labour Welfare Board; (4) Regional Committee of ESI Corporation; (5) Regional Advisory Board of EPF Organization; (6) Regional Committee of Central Board for Workers Education, (7) Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, (8) Karnataka State Unorganized Workers Social Security Board, (9) Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana Society etc., either as Chairman or Member.
  1. Additional Labour Commissioner (Admn):
  1. State Conciliation Officer under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
  2. All Administrative matters, including disciplinary proceedings.
  3. All Accounts matters, including budget plan, etc.
  4. All matters connected with purchase and maintenance of furniture, buildings, fax, telephones, Xerox machines, intercoms, computers, stationery, etc.
  5. Inspections of subordinate offices and follow-up action.
  6. Compliance of Audit Reports.
  7. Co-ordinator for LA/LC and LS/RS questions including calling attention Notices, Business, etc.,
  8. All litigations pertaining to the above items of work.
  1. Additional Labour Commissioner (IR):
  1. State Conciliation Officer under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
  2. All Disputes under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, including strikes, lockouts, closures, layoffs and retrenchments, matters connected with public utility services, complaints and clarifications.
  3. National and State Level meetings, conferences, workshops and seminars connected with IR, including meetings of Standing Labour Committee and Labour Minister’s Conferences, etc.,
  4. Matters related to –

The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1948.

The Payment of Bonus Act, 1966

ILO issues.

Non-implementation of Awards.

Trade union – election / referendum – appointment of returning officer – [ assistance – DLC (P&S)]

Any litigations pertaining to the above item of work.

  1. Joint Labour Commissioner (Minimum Wages & Welfare):

1.State Conciliation Officer under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

2.All matters pertaining to the following Acts:

The Minimum Wages Act, 1948.

The Payment of Wages Act, 1936.

The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972

The Plantation Labour Act, 1951.

The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1976

The Child Labour (P&R) Act, 1986

The EmployeesState Insurance Act.

The Factories Act, 1948.

The Working Journalists (Fixation of rates of Wages) Act, 1958.

The Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.

The Karnataka Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1965.

The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961.

3.All meetings, conferences, workshops and seminars connected with Child Labour and welfare matters.

4.Regional Board meeting of ESIC & EPF.

5.Implementation of welfare programmes including Minimum Wages and Minimum Wage Advisory Board Meetings – Fixation / Revision of Minimum Wages to schedule Employments.

  1. Implementation of –

Recommendations of Tripartite Wage Board on Sugar Industry.

Bachawath Award.

Welfare activities like de-addiction programmes to prevent drug-addiction.

Asha kiran Scheme.

Group Insurance Scheme for landless agricultural workers.

Reply to questions of LA/LC/RS and Assurance including call attention notices, Assembly business, etc., pertaining to the above items of work.

Litigation pertaining to the above items of work.

  1. Deputy Labour Commissioner (P&S):
  1. State Conciliation Officer under Industrial Dispute Act, 1947.
  2. All matters pertaining to:

The Beedi & Cigar Workers (Conditions of Workers) Act, 1966, including Beedi housing scheme.

The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979.

The Contract Labour (R&A) Act, 1970

The Karnataka Shops & Commercial Establishments Act, 1961.

The Industrial Establishments (National & Festival Holidays) Act, 1963.

The Trade Unions Act, 1923.

The Employees Compensation Act, 1923.

The Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976.

The Cine Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1981.