West Bengal Workmen's House-Rent Allowance Act, 1974
No: 56 Dated: Jul, 18 1975
THE WEST BENGALWORKMEN'S HOUSE-RENT ALLOWANCE ACT, 1974
West Bengal Act LVI of 1974
An Act to provide for the payment of house-rent allowance to workmen employed in industry in West Bengal.
Whereas it is expedient to provide for the payment of house-rent allowance to workmen employed in industry in West Bengal;
It is hereby enacted in the Twenty-fifth Year of the Republic of India, by the Legislature of West Bengal, as follows :-
1. Short title, extent, commencement and application. - (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Workmen's House-Rent Allowance Act, 1974.
(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification, appoint.
(4) It shall apply to every industry in which fifty or more workmen! are employed:
Provided that the State Government may, after giving not less than sixty days' notice of its intention so to do, by notification, apply the provisions of this Act to any industry employing such number of workmen less than fifty as may be specified in the notification.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "continuous service" means uninterrupted service and includes service which is interrupted by sickness, accident, leave, lay off, strike or a lock-out or cessation of work not due to any fault of the workmen concerned;
(b) "controlling authority" means the authority appointed by the State Government under section 3;
(c) "employer" means in relation to any industry-
(i) belonging to, or under the control of, the State Government, a person or authority appointed by the State Government, for the supervision and control of workmen, or where no person or authority has been so appointed, the head of the Department concerned, or
(ii) belonging to, or under the control of, any local authority, the person appointed by such authority for the supervision and control of workmen, or where no person has been so appointed, the chief executive officer of the local authority, or
(iii) in any other case, the person who, or the authority which, has the ultimate control over the affairs of the industry and where the said affairs are entrusted to any other person, whether called a manager, managing director or by any other name, such person;
(d) "industry" has the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (j) of Section 2 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947), but does not include a plantation as defined in clause (f) of Section 2 of the plantations Labour Act, 1951 (69 of 1951);
(e) "month" has the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (27) of the Bengal General Clauses Act, 1899 (Bengal Act, 1 of 1899);
(f) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
(g) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(h) "wages" has the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (rr) of Section 2 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947;
(i) "workman" has the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (s) of Section 2 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
3. Controlling Authority. - The State Government may, by notification, appoint any officer not below the rank of Labour Officer, to be the Controlling Authority who shall be responsible for the administration of this Act and different Controlling authorities may be appointed for different areas.
4. Payment of House-rent Allowance. - (1) Every employer shall be bound to pay to every workman House-Rent allowance which shall be Five per cent of the wages payable to the workman for his service in the industry during a month or rupees fifteen whichever is higher.
Provided that in the case of a workman employed purely on temporary basis or casual basis or as a budli, who renders service for less than Six days in a month house-rent allowance shall be paid pro-rata.
(2) The house-rent allowance payable to a workman under sub-section (1) shall be paid in such manner and within such time as may be prescribed.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) a workman who is entitled to draw under the terms of his service house-rent allowance at a higher rate than that provided in sub section (1) shall continue to draw the same at such higher rate.
(4) Where the workman in an industry is given house accommodation by the employer and a deduction is made therefor from his wages then,-
(a) if the amount deducted for such house accommodation is higher than the house-rent allowance admissible under sub-section (1), the deduction shall be reduced by the amount mentioned in that sub-section and no house-rent allowance shall be payable to the workman; and
(b) if the amount deducted is less than the house-rent allowance admissible under sub-section (1), the said allowance shall be reduced by the amount deducted and the balance paid to the workman.
5. Recovery of House-rent Allowance. - (1) If the house-rent allowance payable under this Act is not paid by the employer within the prescribed time, the workman or any other person authorised by him in writing in this behalf, or in the case of death of the workman, his legal representatives may, without prejudice to any other mode of recovery, made in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, an application to the Controlling Authority having jurisdiction over the area in which the industry is situated, for the recorvery of the house-rent allowance due to him :
Provided that such application shall be made within one year from the date on which the house-rent allowance became due :
Provided further that such application may be entertained after the expiry of the said period of one year if the Controlling Authority is satisfied that the workman had sufficient cause for not making the application in time.
(2) The Controlling Authority to whom an application under sub-section (1) is made, may, after giving the applicant and the employer concerned an opportunity of being heard and after making such further inquiry, as may be considered necessary, determine, in such manner as may be prescribed, the amount of house-rent allowance due to the applicant and may, by an order, direct, without prejudice to any other action which may under this Act or any other law lie against the employer, the payment to the applicant of house-rent allowance so determined.
(3) Any amount directed to be paid by an order under sub section (2) may be recovered by any Magistrate to whom the Controlling Authority making the order makes application in this behalf as if it were a fine imposed by such Magistrate.
(4) An appeal shall lie in the prescribed manner and within the prescribed time from an order of the controlling authority dismissing any application or giving any direction under sub-section (2), to the State Government or to such authority not below the rank of Assistant Labour Commissioner, as the State Government may, by notification, appoint in this behalf.