Kerala Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1975
No: 2 Dated: Apr, 11 1977
Kerala Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1975
(Act 2 of 1977)
An Act to provide for the constitution of a fund for promoting the welfare of labour and for certain other matters connected herewith in the State of Kerala.
Preamble. - Whereas it is expedient to provide for the constitution of a fund for promoting the welfare of labour and for certain other matters connected therewith in the State of Kerala ;
Be it enacted in the Twenty-sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Kerala Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1975.
(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 of the State.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "Board" means the Kerala Labour Welfare Fund Board established under section 4 ;
(b) "Commissioner" means the Labour Welfare Fund Commissioner appointed under section 22;
(c) "Contribution" means the sum of money payable to the Board in accordance with the provisions of section 15;
(d) "employee" means-
(i) any person who is employed for hire or reward to do any work skilled or unskilled, manual, supervisory, clerical or technical, in an establishment [for an aggregate period of not less than thirty days during the preceding twelve months] whether the terms of employment be express or implied, but does not include any person-
(A) who is employed mainly in a managerial capacity
(B) who draws wages exceeding seven hundred and fifty rupee per mensem or exercise either by the nature or the duties attached to the office or by reason of the powers vested in him, functions mainly of a managerial nature ; or
(C) who is employed as an apprentice or on part-time basis.
Explanation. - An apprentice means a person who according to the certified standing orders applicable to the establishment, is an apprentice or who is declared to be an apprentice by the authority specified in this behalf by the Government ; and
(ii) any other person employed in any establishment, whom the Government may, by notification in the Gazette, declare to be an employee for the purposes of this Act.
Explanation. - If any question arises whether a person is an employee for the purposes of this Act or not, the question shall be referred to the Government or an officer authorised by the Government in this behalf, whose decision thereon shall be final ;
(e) "employer" means a person who employs either directly or through another person, either on behalf of himself or any other person, one or more employee or employees in an establishment and includes-
(i) in a factory, any person named under clause (f) of sub-section (1) of section 7 of the Factories Act, 1948 (Central Act 63 of 1948), as the manager ;
(ii) in any establishment, any person responsible to the owner for the supervision and control of the employees or for the payment of wages ;
(f) "establishment" includes-
(i) a factory as defined in clause (m) of section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948 (Central Act 63 of 1948) or any place which is deemed to be a factory under sub-section (2) of section 85 of that Act ;
(ii) a motor transport undertaking as defined in clause (g) of section 2 of the Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961 (Central Act 27 of 1961) ;
[(iii) any land used for growing tea, rubber, coffee, cardamom, oil palm or cocoa, in which ten or more persons are employed or were employed in any day of the preceding twelve months;];
(iv) any commercial establishment within the meaning of clause (4) [or any shop within the meaning of clause (15)] of section 2 of the Kerala shops and commercial Establishments Act, 1960 (34 of 1960), which employs, or on any working day during the proceeding twelve months employed [two] or more persons:
(v) an establishment, including a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (Central Act 21 of 1860) or the Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act, 1955 (XII of 1955), which carries on any business or trade or any work in connection therewith or ancillary thereto and which employs, or on any working day during the proceeding twelve months employed, more than twenty persons, but does not include an establishment (not being a factory) of the Central or any State Government ;
(vi) any other establishment which the Government may, by notification in the Gazette, declare to be an establishment for the purposes of this Act;
(g) "Fund" means the Labour Welfare Fund constituted under section 3 ;
(h) "Inspector" means an Inspector appointed under section 24 ;
(i) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act,
(j) "State" means the State of Kerala ;
(k) "unpaid accumulation" means all payments other than gratuity due to an employee but not paid to him within a period of three years from the date on which the payments became due, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, and the gratuity accrued to an employee after the commencement of this Act but not paid within the period of three years from the date of such accrual, but does not include the amount of contribution, if any, paid by an employer to a provident fund established under the employees Provident Funds Act, 1952 (Central Act 19 of 1952) or any other provident fund established by the Government ;
(l) "wages" means wages as defined in clause (vi) of section 2 of the Payment of wages Act, 1936 (Central Act 4 of 1936).