SECRETARIAT OF THE KERALA LEGISLATURE

NOTIFICATION

No. 918/Legn.3/2012/Leg.

Dated, Thiruvananthapuram, 10th April 2012.

The English Translation of the Kerala Abkari Workers’ Welfare Fund

(Amendment) Bill 2012 together with the Statement of Object Reasons and the

Financial Memorandum is published, under Rule 69 (5) of the Rules of

Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Kerala Legislative Assembly.

P. K. MURALEEDHARAN,

Secretary-in-Charge,

Legislative Assembly.

G. 23/2012/DTP.

Kerala Gazette No. 15 dated 10th April 2012.

PART II

Thirteenth Kerala Legislative Assembly

Bill No. 70

[Translation in English of the “2012-˛se tIcf A_vImcn sXmgnemfn

t£a\n[n (t`ZKXn) _n¬” published under the Authority of the Governor]

THE KERALA ABKARI WORKERS’ WELFARE FUND

(AMENDMENT) BILL, 2012

A

BILL

further to amend the Kerala Abkari Workers’ Welfare Fund Act, 1989.

Preamble.—WHEREAS, it is expedient further to amend the Kerala Abkari

Workers’ Welfare Fund Act, 1989, for the purposes hereinafter appearing;

BE it enacted in the Sixty-third year of the Republic of India

as follows:—

1. Short title and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Kerala

Abkari Worker’s Welfare Fund (Amendment) Act, 2012.

(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of

January, 1990.

2. Amendment of Section 2.—In sub clause (ii) of clause (m) of Section 2

of the Kerala Abkari Workers’ Welfare Fund Act, 1989 (19 of 1989), the

words “overtime allowance” shall be omitted.

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS

The word ‘wages’ as defined in clause (m) of Section 2 of the Kerala

Abkari Workers’ Welfare Fund Act, 1989 (19 of 1989), means all emoluments

which are earned by an abkari worker while on duty or on leave with wages in

accordance with the terms of the contract of employment and which are paid or

payable in cash to him but it does not include the cash value of any food

concession, overtime allowance, bonus, commission etc.

2.

Abkari institutions are working for 365 days. Therefore leave has been

granted from 50 to 110 days on the basis of agreement in order to get the

leave to the convenience of the workers.

Leave wages are being paid to the

workers who utilise the leave partially and do work for the remaining leave

2

days.

The workers receive this leave wages in the same manner as ordinary

wages by entering it in the wages register.

In this industry there exists no

precedent to consider as overtime work or to give double salary

accordingly.

The employer remits 10% of the wages, including this leave

wages, as workers’ contribution.

In the enquiries relating to the determination

of the rate of contribution, the employers are given reasonable opportunity of

being heard and sufficient time for producing the documents in respect of the

number of employees and the documents relating to the wages paid to

them.

But the employers do not utilise these opportunities.

In the said

enquiries they neither establish that the leave wages so paid are overtime

bonus or produce documents to prove the same.

3.

It is due to the possibility of misinterpreting the leave wages as

overtime wages, the Kerala Abkari Workers’ Welfare Fund Board had requested

to amend sub-clause (ii) of clause (m) of Section 2 of the Kerala Abkari

Workers’ Welfare Fund Act, 1989 with retrospective effect.

If the said

amendment proposal is implemented, the contribution amount from 1990 needs

no revision on the basis of the total amount by adding the wages and the leave

wages paid to the workers.

Taking into account these factors, the Government

have approved the request of the Board and decided to enact legislation for the

purpose.

4.

This Bill is intended to achieve the above object.

FINANCIAL MEMORANDUM

The Bill, if enacted and brought into operation, would not involve any

additional expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of the State.

SHIBU BABY JOHN.

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