Kerala Agricultural Workers Act 1974

No: 18 Dated: Aug, 06 1974

THE KERALA AGRICULTURAL WORKERS ACT, 1974

(ACT 18 OF 1974)

    An Act to provide fbi the welfare of agricultural workers in the State of Kerala and regulate the conditions of their work.

    PreambIe.—WHEREAS, it is expedient to pmvide for the welfare of agricultural workers in the State of Kerala and to regulate to conditions of their work;

BE it enacted in the Twenty-fifth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

CHAF'I'ER I

PRELIMINARY

I. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Kerala Agricultural Workers Act. 1974.

(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different areas and for different provisions of this Act.

2. Definitions— In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "adult" means a person who has completed his eighteenth year of age;

(b) "adolescent" means a person who has completed his fifteenth year of age but has not completed his eighteenth year of age;

(c) "agricultural dispute" means any dispute or difference between landowners and lando,ners or between landowners and agricultural workers or between agricultural workers and agricultural workers which is connected with the employment or non-employment or the terms of employment or with the conditions of labour, of any person.

Explanation.—Where any landowner discharges, dismisses, retrenches or otherwise terminates the services of, or denies employment to, an individual agricultural worker, any dispute or difference between that agricultural worker and his 'employer connected with, or arising out of, such discharge, dismissal, retirement, termination or denial of employment shall be deemed to be an agricultural dispute notwithstanding that no other agricultural worker nor any union of agricultural workers is a party to the dispute;

(d) 'Agricultural land" means any land used for cultivations include any plantation as defined in the Plantations Labour Act, 1951 . (Central Act 69 of 1951);

(e) "Agricultural Tribunal" means, in relation to any area, the Agricultural Tribunal constituted under this Act for that area;

(f) "Aagricultural worker" means a person who, in consideration of the . wages payable to him by a landowner, works on, or does any other agricultural. Operation in relation to, the agricultural land of such landowner;

(g) Board" means the Agricultural Workers' Welfare Fund Board constituted under section II;

(h) "child" means a person who has not completed his fifteenth year of age;

(i) "Conciliation Officer" means, in relation to any area, the Conciliation Officer appointed under this Act for that area; )

(j) 'family" means husband, wife and their unmarried minor children or such of them as exist;

(k) "Fund" means the fund established in pursuance of sub-section (1) of section 8;

(l) 'inspector" means an hspector appointed under sub-section (1) of section 5 or deemed, under sub-section (3) of that section, to be appointed for the purposes of this Act;

(m) "landowner" means,-

(i) in relation to a land personally cultivated, the owner of such land;

(ii) in relation to a land held by a cultivating tenant, such cultivating tenant;

(iii) in any other case, the person in actual possession of the land, and includes his heirs, assignees and legal representatives.