Company : Sol Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Website : www.courtkutchehry.com BOMBAY LABOUR WELFARE FUND RULES, 1953 CONTENTS 1. Short title 1A. . 2. Definitions 3. Payment of fines and of unpaid accumulations by employer 3A. . 3B. . 4. Notice for payment of fines and unpaid accumulations by Welfare Commissioner 4A. Particulars of unpaid accumu lations to be puublished under Section 6-A (3) 4B. . 5. Maintenance and auditof accounts 6. Uudgct of Board 7. Additional Expenditure 8. Application for grant from fund 9. Mode of payment 10. Constitution of Board 11. Allowance ol the members 11A. Allowances of members of committees 12. Meetings of Board 13. Quorum 14. Chairman to preside 15. Adjournment of Meeting 16. All questions to be decided by majority 17. Mode of exercising votes 18. Minutes of the meeting 18A. Recruitment anil condition:, of servie of Welfare Commissioner 18B. . 18C. . 19. Additional powers of Inspector 19A. Percentage of annual income of kind towards staff 20. Publication of annual report of Board 21. Maintenance of registers by employers BOMBAY LABOUR WELFARE FUND RULES, 1953 In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 19 of the Bombay Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1953 (Bom. XL of 1953), the Government of Bombay is pleased to make the following Rules, namely : 1. Short title :- These rules may be called the Bombay Labour Welfare Fund Rules, 1953. 1A. . :- 1 These rules extend to the whole of the State of Maharashtra.] 1. Inserted by G.N. of 2-6-l962. 2. Definitions :- In these rules, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context. (i) "Act" means the Bombay Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1953: 1 (ia) "establishment register" means, in relation to , (a) a factory, a register of adult workers or a register of child workers maintained under Section 62 or Section 73 respectively of the Factories Act, 1948 (Act No. LXIII of 1948) ; (b) a motor omnibus service, a register of workers maintained under Rule 3? of the Maharashtra Motor Transport Workers Rules, 1962 ; (c) any other establishment, a register of employment maintained under the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Rules, 1961 ; Provided that, where any establishment is not required to maintain such register, any other register in which names of workers of the establishment employed every day or every month of the year are ordinarily shown.] (ii) "Form" means a form appended to these Rules ; (iii) "section " means section of the Act: (iv) Words and expressions not defined in these rules shall have the meanings assigned to them under the Act. 1. Inserted by G.N. of 4-5-l971. 3. Payment of fines and of unpaid accumulations by employer :- (1) Within fifteen days from the date on which the Act shall come into force in any area, every employer in such area shall pay by cheque, money order or cash to the Welfare Commissioner (a) all fines realised from the employees before the said date and remaining unutilized on that date ; and (b) all unpaid accumulations held by the employer on the aforesaid date : 1 [ Provided that, in the Vidarbha and Hyderabad areas of the State, such payment shall be made by the employer within fifteen days from the date on which the Bombay Labour Welfare Fund (Extension and Amendment) Rules, 1962 come into force.] (2) The employer shall along with such payment submit a statement to the Welfare Commissioner giving full particulars of the amounts so paid. (3) Thereafter, all fines realised from the employees and all unpaid accumulations during the quarters ending 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December, shall be paid by the employer in the manner aforesaid to the Welfare Commissioner on or before 15th of April, 15th of July, 15th of October and 15th of January succeeding such quarter and a statement giving particulars of the amounts so paid shall be submitted by him along with such payment to the Welfare Commissioner. 1. Inserted by G.N. of 2-6-1962. 3A. . :- 1 Every employer shall submit to the Welfare Commissioner on or before 30th day of July and 31st day of January a statement of employer's contribution and employees' contribution in respect of employees whose names stand on the establishment register on 30th June and 31 st December, respectively, in Form 'A-1. 1. Inserted by G.N. of 4-5-1971. 3B. . :- The Welfare Commissioner shall submit to the State Government not later than 31st August and 28th February respectively a statement of employer's contributions received by him on 30th June and 31st December, respectively, in Form 'A-2'.] 4. Notice for payment of fines and unpaid accumulations by Welfare Commissioner :- The Welfare Commissioner may, after making such enquiries as he may deem fit, and after calling for a report from the Inspector, if necessary, serve a notice on any employer to pay any portion of fines realised from the employees or unpaid accumulations held by him which the employer has not paid in accordance with Rule 3. The employer shall comply with the notice within 14 days of the receipt thereof. 4A. Particulars of unpaid accumu lations to be puublished under Section 6-A (3) :- 1The notice referred to in sub-section (3) of Section 6-A shall contain the following particulars, namely : (1) Name and address of the factory or establishment in which the unpaid accumulations was earned : (2) Wages period during which the unpaid accumulations was earned ; (3) Amount of the unpaid accumulations.] 2 [ (4) A declaration that a list containing the names of employees and the amount due to them and paid to the Board has been pasted on the notice-board of the factory or establishment in which the unpaid accumulations was earned.] 1. lnsertcdbyG.N.of 28-11-1962 2. Added by G.N. of 24-6-1970. 4B. . :- 1 (i) Applications for remission of penalty shall be made to the Welfare Commissioner within thirty days from the date of payment of penalty, and shall clearly specify the gounds on which the remission is claimed. (ii) Where the Welfare Commissioner is satisfied that the penalty imposed is likely to cause undue hardship to the employer concerned or that the employer has suffered financially on account of riots, war or through natural calamities or that delay caused in the payment of unpaid fines was due to circumstances beyond his control, the Welfare Commissioner may remit in part or whole the penalty payment under sub-section (2) of Section 6-B : Provided that if the amount of penalty to be remitted exceeds Rs. 500 the remission shall not be made without prior sanction of the Board.] 1. Inserted by G.N. of 15-3-1969. 5. Maintenance and auditof accounts :- 1The accounts of the funds shall be prepared and maintained by the Accounts Officer of the Board in Form 'A' and shall be audited by the 2 [Chief Auditor, Local Fund Accounts], Maharashtra State. Bombay, once a year. The Welfare Commissioner shall be responsible for the disposal of the audit note. 1. Substituted by G.N. of"15-3-1969 2. Substituted by G.N of 5-12-1969. 6. Uudgct of Board :- (1) The budget estimates for each financial year shall be prepared and laid before the Board on or before the 1 st day of December of the previous financial year and, after it is approved by the Board, shall be forwarded to the State Government for approval on or before the 15th December. The State Government shall approve of the budget before the 15th January after making such amendments and alterations as it considers necessary. (2) The budget thus amended or altered and approved shall constitute the budget of the Board for the ensuing financial year and shall be issued under the seal of the Board and signed by the officer or officers of the Board duly authorised in this behalf. An authenticated copy of budget shall be forwarded to the State Government before the 28th February. 7. Additional Expenditure :- If during the course of the financial year it becomes necessary to incur expenditure over and above the provision made in the budget, the Board shall immediately submit to the State Government the details of the proposed expenditure, and specify the manner in which it proposed to meet the additional expenditure. The State Government shall either approve the proposed expenditure after making such modifications as it considers necessary or reject it, A copy of the order passed by the State Government on every such proposal to incur additional expenditure shall be communicated to the Board and the Auditor, if any, appointed by the State Government. 8. Application for grant from fund :- Any employer, local authority or any other body, may make an application to the Welfare Commissioner for a grant under Section 7 (3) of the Act. Such application shall be placed by the Welfare Commissioner before the Board within a month of its receipt with his remarks, and the recommendations of the Board shall be forwarded to the State Government by Welfare Commissioner for obtaining the approval of the State Government. 9. Mode of payment :- 1 All payments from the fund amounting to (a) less than Rs. 50 may be made in cash : (b) Rs. 50 or more shall be made by cheque issued by the Welfare Commissioner ; provided that the Board may, in any particular case for special reasons, authorise such payment also in cash.] 1. Substituted by G.N. of 16-ll-1954. 10. Constitution of Board :- 1 [(1) The Board shall consist of twenty members including the Chairman, out of which five shall be the representatives of employers and employees each, six independent members and four representatives of women.] (2)2 1. Substituted by G.N. of 7-7-1965. 2. Deleted by G.N. of 15-3-1969. 11. Allowance ol the members :- The members shall hold their offices in an honorary capacity provided that each member shall be eligible to an honorarium of Rs. 10 for attending each meeting of the Board and to travelling and daily allowances admissible to first grade officers of the State Government. 11A. Allowances of members of committees :- 1 The members of the committees constituted under Section 6-AA shall be eligible to an honorarium of Rs. 10 for attending each meeting of the committee and to travelling and daily allowances admissible to first grade officers of the State Government.] 1. Inserted by G.N. of 15-3-1969. 12. Meetings of Board :- (1) The Board shall meet at least once every quarter and as often as may be necessary. (2) All members of the Board shall be given seven clear days' notice of a meeting specifying the date, time and place of the meeting and business to be transacted thereat: 1 [Provided that, seven clear day's notice shall not be necessary where, in the opinion of the Chairman, business of an emergent nature has to be transacted.] 1. Substituted by G.N. of 15-3-1969. 13. Quorum :- The number of members necesary to constitute a quorum at a meeting of the Board shall be seven including the Chairman. 14. Chairman to preside :- Every meeting of the Board shall be presided over by the Chairman or if the Chairman is, for any reason, unable to attend it, 15* * * by such one of the members present as may be chosen by the meeting to be Chairman for the occasion. 15. Adjournment of Meeting :- If there is no quorum as laid down in Rule 13, the Chairman shall, after waiting for thirty minutes after the expiration of the appointed hour, adjourn the meetings to such hour on some other future day as he may reasonably fix. A notice of such adjourned meeting shall be sent to every member of the Board and the business which would have been brought before the original meeting, had there been a quorum thereat shall be brought before the adjourned meeting and may be disposed of at such meeting. Whether there be a quorum or not. 16. All questions to be decided by majority :- All questions coming before the meeting of the Board shall be decided by a majority of the members present and voting at the meeting, the Chairman having a second or casting vote in all cases of equality of votes. 17. Mode of exercising votes :- Votes shall be taken by show of hands and the names of persons voting in favour and against any proposition shall be recorded only if any member requests the Chairman to do so. 18. Minutes of the meeting :- The Board shall keep minutes of the proceedings of each meeting of the Board, and shall include therein the names of the members present. A copy of such minutes shall be submitted by the Board to the State Government as soon as they are confirmed by the Board. 18A. Recruitment anil condition:, of servie of Welfare Commissioner :- 1 (1) Appointment to the post of Welfare Commissioner shall be made either (a) by nomination from among persons . (i) who are not less than 35 years and more than 45 years of age : (ii) who holds a degree in Economics and Sociology of any University recognised by the State Government in this behalf and diploma in Labour Welfare or Social Sciences of any institute recognised by the State Government in this behalf; (iii) who have sufficient knowlege of Marathi and are able to speak, read and write in that language ; (iv) who have at least ten year's experience in a responsible capacity in labour or social welfare administration ; and (v) who have sufficient knowledge and experience of organising physical, cultural and other recreational activities ; (b) by promotion from among Deputy Welfare Commissioners who have put in continuous service of at least three years in that post; or (c) by deputation of officers from the cadre of Deputy Commissioner of Labour or of Assistant Commissioner of Labour, (i) who possess the educational qualifications mentioned in sub- clause (ii) of clause (a); and (ii) who have put in a continuous service of five years in any capacity, and lower in rank than that of an Assistant Commissioner of Labour. (2) A candidate appointed by nomination shall be on probation for a period of two years, and shall be required to pass an examination in Hindi in accordance with the rules made in that behalf by the State Government. (3) The post of Welfare Commissioner shall carry (i) the pay-scale of 17[Rs. 800-50-l,300-(Mofussil)]: (ii) a dearness allowance at the rate admissible to an officer of the State Government drawing equal to that drawn by the Welfare Commissioner; and (iii) a conveyance allowance of 18[Rs. 150] per month, where the holder of the post maintains a motor car, and a conveyance allowance of [Rs. 60] per month where the holder of the post does not maintain a motor car: Provided that during the period of probation, a candidate appointed by nomination shall be eligible to draw a fixed pay of20[Rs. 800] per month.] 1. Inserted by G.N. of 13-7-1953. 18B. . :- ] The Board may delegate its powers and functions to the Welfare Commissioner in relation to the following matters, subject to the conditions and limitations specified below, namely : (1) Under Section 7. subject to the provisions of any rule made in this behalf (a) to sanction expenditure within the budget grants approved by the State Government: (b) to transfer funds among the following detailed heads account, namely : (i) Community and social education centres : (iii) Reading rooms at centres ; (iii) Libraries at centres: (iv) Circulating Libraries ; (v) Community necessities ; (vi) Games and Sports ; (vii) Excursions, tours and holiday homes ; (viii) Entertainment and other forms of recreation ; (ix) Home Industries ; (x) Subsidiary occupations for women and unemployed persons ; (xi) Remunerative employment. (c) to write off any loss when its value is not more than Rs. 250. (2) Under Section 14-- (a) to appoint the necessary clerical and executive staff to carry out and supervise the activities financed from the Fund, on posts, the basic salary of which is not more than Rs. 250 per month ; (b) to exercise powers of administration and taking disciplinary action against such staff as stated below :- (i) Power to transfer, sanction increment, fix pay, grant joining time, depute on foreign service, sanction leave, relax qualifications. (ii) Power of discharging a person (a) on probation, during the period of such probation ; (b) appointed otherwise than under contract to hold a temporary appointment, on the expiration of the period of that appointment or for any other reason ; (c) engaged under contract, in accordance with the terms of his contract; (d) appointment otherwise than under a contract, to hold a permanent appointment, on the abolition of that post or for any other reasons. (iii) Powers of imposing any of the following penalties :- (a) censure ; (b) withholding of increments or promotion, including stoppage at an efficiency bar; (c) reduction to a lower post or time scale or to a lower stage in a time scale ; (d) recovery from pay of the whole or part of any loss caused to the Board by negligence or breach of orders ; (e)fine ; (f) suspension ; (g) removal from the service of the Board, which does not disqualify from future employment; (h) dismissal from the service of the Board, which ordinarily disqualifies from future employment; (i) any other punishment with the approval of the Board : Provided that every member of such staff shall have a right to appeal to the Board against any order or reduction, dismissal or removal from service, fine or any other punishment.] 18C. . :- 1 [*****] 1. Deleted by G.N. of 19-1-1973. 19. Additional powers of Inspector :- Every Inspector shall, for carrying out the purposes of the Act, also have the powers to require any employer to produce any document for his inspection, to supply him a true copy of any such document and to give him a statement in writing. 19A. Percentage of annual income of kind towards staff :- The Board shall ensure that the expenses of the staff including the staff employed for carrying out the programmes of the Board, and other administrative expenses, shall not exceed 60 per cent, of the annual income of the Fund.] 20. Publication of annual report of Board :- The Board shall, within three months of the date of the closing of each financial year, submit to the State Government for approval an audited statement of receipts and expenditure together with an annual report giving its activities in the year. 25[The statement and report shall be laid as soon as may be after they are approved by the State Government before each House of the State Legislature while it is in session for a period of one month. After they are so laid, the Board shall cause the same to be published in such manner as it may deem fit.] 21. Maintenance of registers by employers :- (1) Every employer of an establishment shall maintain and preserve for a period of 10 years (a) a register of wages i n 1[Form 'B'] 2[except in cases where the employer maintains a muster roll-cum- wage register prescribed under the Bombay Minimum Wages Rules. 1963]; and (b) a consolidated register of unclaimed wages and fines in 1 [Form 'C']. However, in cases pending before Appellate Authorities the record shall be preserved till the cases are finally disposed. (2) The employer shall by the 31st January every year forward to the Welfare Commissioner a copy of the extract from the register in Form 'B' pertaining to the previous year.] 1. Substituted by G.N. of 15-31969. 2. Inserted by G.N. of 24-9-1965.