Section 2: Definitions
(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “appropriate Government” means,—
(i) in relation to—
(1)any establishment pertaining to any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government or pertaining to any such controlled industry as may be specified in this behalf by the Central Government; or
(2)any establishment of any railway, Cantonment Board, major port, mine or oil-field; or
(3)any establishment of a banking or insurance company the Central Government;
(ii) in relation to any other establishment, the Government of the State in which that other establishment is situated;
(b)“contractor”, in relation to an establishment, means a person who undertakes (whether as an independent contractor, agent, employee or otherwise) to produce a given result for the establishment, other than a mere supply of goods or articles of manufacture to such establishment, by the employment of workmen or to supply workmen to the establishment, and includes a sub-contractor, Khatadar, Sardar, agent or any other person, by whatever name called, who recruits or employs workmen;
(c)“controlled industry” means any industry the control of which by the Union has been declared by any Central Act to be expedient in the public interest;
(d)“establishment” means—
(i) any office or department of the Government or a local authority; or
(ii) any place where any industry, trade, business, manufacture or occupation is carried on;
(e)“inter-State migrant workman” means any person who is recruited by or through a contractor in one State under an agreement or other arrangement for employment in an establishment in another State, whether with or without the knowledge of the principal employer in relation to such establishment;
(f)“prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(g)“principal employer” means,—
(i) in relation to any office or department of the Government or a local authority, the head of that office, department or authority or such other officer as the Government or the local authority, as the case may be, may specify in this behalf;
(ii) in relation to a factory, the owner or occupier of the factory and where a person has been named as the manager of the factory under the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948), the person so named;
(iii) in relation to a m ine, the owner or agent of the mine and where a person has been named as the manager of the mine, the person so named;
(iv) in relation to any other establishment, any person responsible for the supervision and control of the establishment.
Explanation.—For the purposes of sub-clause (iii) of this clause, the expres-sions “mine”, “owner” and “agent” shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in clause (j), clause (e) and clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Mines Act,1952 (35 of 1952);
(h)“recruitment” includes entering into any agreement or other arrangement for recruitment and all its grammatical variations and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;
(i)“wages” shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (vi) of section 2 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (4 of 1936);
(j)“workman” means any person employed in or in connection with the work of any establishment to do any skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled, manual, supervisory, technical or clerical work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, but does not include any such person—
(i) who is employed mainly in a managerial or administration capacity or
(ii) who, being employed in a supervisory capacity, draws wages exceeding five hundred rupees per mensem, or exercises, either by the nature of the duties attached to the office or by reason of the powers vested in him, functions mainly of a managerial nature.
(2)Any reference in this Act to any law which is not in force in any area shall, in relation to that area, be construed as a reference to the corresponding law, if any, in force in that area.
COMMENTS
(i)The expressions “mine”, “owner” and “agent” have the same meanings as respectively assigned to them in clause (j), clause (1) and clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Mines Act, 1952. Clause (j), (I) and (c) of the Mines Act, 1952 are as under:
(j)“Mine” means any excavation where any operation for the purpose of searching for or obtaining minerals has been or is being carried on and includes.—
(i) all borings, bore holes, oil wells and accessory crude conditioning plants, including the pipe conveying mineral oil within the oil fields;
(ii) all shafts, in or adjacent to and belonging to a mine, whether in the course of being sunk or not;
(iii) all levels and inclined planes in the course of being driven; (iv) all open cast workings;
(v) all conveyors or aerial ropeways provided for the bringing into or removal from a mine of minerals or other articles or for the removal of refuse therefrom;
(vi)all adits, levels, planes, machinery, works, railways, tramways and sidings in or adjusted to and belongings to a mine;
(vii)all protective works being carried out in or adjacent to a mine;
(viii) all workshops and stores situated within the precincts of a mine and under the same management and used primarily for the purposes connected with that mine or a number of mines under the same management;
(ix)all power stations, transformer sub-stations, converter stations, rectifier stations and accumulator, storage stations for supplying electricity solely or mainly for the purpose of working the mine or a number of mines under the same management;
(x)any premises for the time being used for depositing sand or other material for use in a mine or for depositing refuse from a mine or in which any operations in connection with such sand, refuse or other material is being carried on, being premises exclusively occupied by “the owner of the mine;
(xi)any premises in or adjacent to and belonging to a mine on which any process ancillary to the getting, dressing or preparations for sale of minerals or of coke is being carried on;
(1)“Owner”, when used in relation to a mine, means any person who is the immediate proprietor or lessee or occupier of the mine or of any part thereof and in the case of a mine the business whereof is being carried on by a liquidator or receiver, such liquidator or receiver but does not include a person who merely receives a royalty, rent or fine from the mine, or is merely the proprietor of the mine, subject it to any lease, grantor licence for the working thereof, or is merely the owner of the soil and not interested in the minerals of the mine; but any contractor or sub-lessee for the working of a mine or any part thereof shall be subject to this Act in like manner as if he were an owner, but not so as to exempt the owner from any liability;
(c)“agent”, when used in relation to a mine, means every person, whether appointed as such or not, who, acting or purporting to act on behalf of the owner, take part in the management, control, supervision or direction of the mine or of any part thereof;
(ii) “Wages” have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (vi) of section 2 of the Pay merit of Wages Act, 1936. Clause (vi) of section 2 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 is as under:
(vi) “wages” means all remuneration (whether by way of salary, allowances, or otherwise) expressed in terms of money or capable of being so expressed which would, if the terms of employment, express or implied, were fulfilled, be payable to a person employed in respect of his employment or of work done in such employment, and includes—
(a)any remuneration payable u
