Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

Rural Workers' Organisations Convention, 1975 (No. 141) - India (Ratification: 1977)

The Committee takes due note of the information provided in the Government’s report and recalls that its earlier comments referred to:

(1)  refusal of the Government of Maharashtra to negotiate with muster assistants (workers that provide water and medical facilities at worksites) employed through the Employment Guarantee Scheme;

(2)  alleged inadequate pay and service conditions of female workers employed in the state government’s "Integrated Child Development Scheme";

(3)  working conditions and wages of forest and brick-making workers.

Muster assistant

In previous comments, the Committee had requested the Government to provide the text of the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the notification issued by the Government to the effect that muster assistants were not covered under the Industrial Disputes Act (IDA), 1947, or the Trade Unions Act, 1948. The Government indicates that the Supreme Court’s decision, rendered on 15 March 2002, has confirmed the position of the government of Maharashtra. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide it with the text of the Supreme Court’s decision.

The Committee also notes that the state Government of Maharashtra has started the process of absorbing the muster assistants in services, on regular government/Zilla Parishad posts, which are of equal pay. The Committee nevertheless recalls its previous comments in which it considered that muster assistants were persons engaged in related occupations in a rural area as defined by Article 2 of the Convention. In this respect, the Committee notes with concern that the Supreme Court has confirmed the position that muster assistants are not covered by the IDA or the Trade Unions Act. It therefore requests the Government to indicate, in its next report, the legislation which governs the rights of muster assistants under the Convention, in particular as concerns the right to carry out activities in defence of their socio-economic interests. Furthermore, the Government is requested to indicate the steps taken to promote the widest possible understanding of the need to further the development of rural workers’ organizations, including for muster assistants, as provided for under Article 6 of the Convention.

Female workers employed in the state government’s
"Integrated Child Development Scheme"

In its previous observation, the Committee requested the Government to specify the impact of the awareness camps on the creation and growth of strong and independent associations for women employed in the state government’s "Integrated Child Development Scheme" (a scheme aimed at the holistic development of pregnant and nursing mothers) and how it promotes the widest possible understanding of the need to further the development of female workers in this scheme and of the contribution these associations can make to improve employment opportunities for women and conditions of work and life in rural areas. The Committee notes the Government’s proposition to double the existing amount of honorarium that is given to the female workers in the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). The Committee also notes the Government’s position that the role envisaged in ICDS for these female workers is such that it would not be appropriate to compare them with regular employees/workers. The Committee, however, is still of the opinion that the ICDS participants are rural workers covered by the "related occupations" as defined by Article 2 of the Convention, which states that "the term ‘rural worker’ means any person engaged in agriculture, handicrafts or a related occupation in a rural area, whether as a wage earner or, subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article, as a self-employed person such as a tenant, sharecropper or small owner-occupier". The Committee once again requests the Government to specify the impact of the awareness camps on the creation and growth of strong and independent associations for those employed in the ICDS, as provided in Article 4.

Forest and brick-making workers

With regard to the working conditions and wages of forest and brick-making workers, the Committee had previously requested the Government to provide information on the possibility of those workers to form strong and independent organizations to improve their working conditions, and the measures envisaged by the Government to facilitate this objective. The Committee notes the Government’s report which contains information on the general situation of the forest and brick-making workers, and which indicates the relevant legislation that is applicable to those workers, including the basic labour laws. While noting the Government’s indication on the working conditions and wages of these workers, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the specific legislative provisions which ensure the rights of forest and brick-making workers to form strong and independent organizations to improve their working conditions, and to provide any statistics available in respect of the number of such organizations, the number of workers covered and any collective agreements which may have been concluded in this sector.

Finally, the Committee requests the Government to continue to keep it informed of all measures taken or envisaged to facilitate the establishment and growth, on a voluntary basis, of strong and independent organizations of rural workers.