Kerala Govt Brings Ordinance To Give Employees ‘Right To Sit’ In Shops & Establishments
The Kerala Government has promulgated an Ordinance to give employees the ‘right to sit’, by amending the provisions of Kerala Shops and Establishments Act 1960. The Ordinance titled ‘The Kerala Shops and Establishments(Amendment) Ordinance 2018’ was promulgated by the Governor of Kerala and notified in the Gazette on October 4.It contains a mandatory condition to provide seating arrangements to employees who otherwise have to be on their feet for long hours. Section 21B introduced in the principal Act by the Ordinance states that “in every shop and establishment, suitable arrangements for sitting shall be provided for all workers so as to avoid “on the toes” situation throughout the duty time, so that they may take advantage of any opportunity to sit which may occur in the course of their work”.
The violation of the Section will attract penalty and fine under the Act. Section 29 of the Act, which prescribes fine for violation of the provisions of the Act, has been amended by the Ordinance to include the newly inserted Section 21B. The fine amount has also been increased by the Ordinance from five thousand rupees for first time offence to rupees one lakhs, and ten thousand rupees for second or subsequent offence to rupees two lakhs.Earlier, saleswomen in textile shops had staged protests for “right to sit” against the compulsory requirement to stand for long hours, which extended in many cases to more than 10 hours a day. They also complained that they were not permitted to even go to the washroom during their working hours. The National Human Rights Commission had taken note of the pathetic working conditions of female staff in textile retail shops in Kerala. The Ordinance intends to remedy this situation. Further, the proviso inserted to Section 20 by the Ordinance permits night shifts for women, but with the condition that in a group of five members put on the night shift, at least two should be women, and that the employer should arrange travel arrangements and security for women working during night shifts. The present law prohibits employment of women between 7 pm and 6 am.Section 11 has been substituted by the Ordinance to state that every employee should be given at least one whole day leave per week.
courtesy : livelaw.in
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
