HC slams govt over inability to implement labour laws

The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Wednesday directed the additional chief secretary (Labour and Employment) to file an affidavit giving details on the steps taken for the implementation of labour laws and the utilisation of the amount for the welfare of labourers working in pitiable conditions in the state.

After it was brought to the notice of the court that there was only one labour officer and two labour inspectors in the whole of Solan district — which has more than a thousand industrial units,over 1,200 shops and 250 hotel and restaurants — the court wondered if the government had addressed the issue of implementation of labour laws with the required seriousness.

Earlier,the labour inspector had informed the court that besides inspecting several industrial units,they have been carrying out the duties of the conciliation officer,registering officer and appearing as prosecutor in courts without any supporting staff and even a vehicle.

The order was passed by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Rajiv Sharma on a PIL,which the court taken up suo moto after getting an enquiry conducted on an anonymous letter addressed to the chief justice.