The UTTAR PRADESH INDUSTRIAL PEACE (TIMELY PAYMENT OF WAGES) ACT, 1978

  
UTTAR PRADESH INDUSTRIAL PEACE (TIMELY PAYMENT OF
WAGES) ACT, 1978 1
(U. P. A CT No. 5 OF 1978)
Amended by
(U. P. A CT No. 33 OF 2021)
[Passed in Hindi by the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly
on March 30, 1978 and by the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council
on April 11, 1978.
Received the assent of the Governor on April 16, 1978
under Article 200 of the Constitution of India and was published
in theUttar Pradesh Gazette Extraordinary, dated April 18,
1978.]
AN
ACT
to provide, in the interests of maintenance of industrial
peace, for timely payment of wages in bigger industrial
establishments and for matters connected therewith ;
It is hereby enacted in the Twenty-ninth Year of the Republic of
India as follows : —
Short title,
extent and
commencement
1.(1) This Act may be called the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Peace
(Timely Payment of Wages) Act, 1978.
(2) It extends to the whole of Uttar Pradesh.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on December 12,
1977.
Definitions 2.In this Act, —
(a) “industrial establishment” means any factory, workshop or
other establishment in which articles are produced, processed,
adopted or manufactured with a view to their use, transport or sale ;
(b) “Labour Commissioner” includes an officer, not below the
rank of an Assistant Labour Commissioner, authorized by him to
discharge, exercise and perform the duties, powers and functions of a
Labour Commissioner under this Act ;
(c) “occupier” in relation to an industrial establishment, means
the employer of workmen employed in such establishment, and
includes in the case where the employer is a company the Managing
Director and where it is a firm the partner designated in that behalf by
the firm and in case of any other employer an officer designated in that
behalf by the employer with his consent and whose name is intimated
by the employer to the Labour Commissioner in the prescribed form by
the prescribed date ;
(d) “wage-bill” means the total amount of wages payable by an
industrial establishment to its workmen ;
1. For SOR see at the end of this Act.
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[Uttar Pradesh Industrial Peace (Timely Payment of Wages) Act, 1978]
(e) “wages” shall have the meaning assigned to it in the Payment
of Wages Act, 1936 ;
(f) “workmen” shall have the meaning assigned to it in the U. P.
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 ;
(g) an occupier of an industrial establishment shall be deemed to
be in “default” of payment of wages if such wages are not paid within
time as provided in section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936.
Recovery of
wages in
certain
industrial
establishments
as arrear of
land revenue
3.(1) Where the Labour Commissioner is satisfied that the
occupier of an industrial establishment is in default of payment of
wages and that the wage-bill in respect of which such occupier is in
default exceeds fifty thousand rupees, he may, without prejudice to the
provisions of sections 5 and 6, forward to the Collector, a certificate
under his signature specifying the amount of wages due from the
industrial establishment concerned.
(2) Upon receipt of the certificate referred to in sub-section (1),
the Collector shall proceed to realize, from the industrial establishment,
the amount specified therein, besides recovery charges at the rate of ten
percent, as if such amount were an arrear of land revenue.
(3) The amount realized under sub-section (2) shall, after
deducting the recovery charges, be placed at the disposal of the Labour
Commissioner who shall disburse the same or cause it to be disbursed
among the workmen entitled thereto.
(4) Where the amount so realized falls short of the wage-bill in
respect of which the occupier has been in default, the Labour
Commissioner may arrange for disbursement of such proportion of
respective proportions of the wages due to various categories of
workmen as he may think fit.
(5) The liability of the occupier towards each workman in respect
of payment of wages, shall, to the extent of the amount paid to such
workmen under this section stand discharged.
Power of
Labour
commissioner
4.For the purposes of ascertaining the wage-bill of an
establishment in respect of which default has been committed the
Labour Commissioner shall have all the powers of a Civil Court, while
trying a suit, under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 in respect of
enforcing the attendance of witnesses and examining them on oath and
compelling the production of documents and shall be deemed to be a
civil court for the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
Penalties 5.(1) No occupier of an industrial establishment shall at any
time, be in default of a wage-bill exceeding rupees one lakh.
(2) Every occupier who contravenes the provisions of
sub-section (1) shall be punishable with 1[fine which shall not be less
than rupees fifty thousand but may extend to rupees one lakh].
1. Sub. By Sec. 2 (i) of the U.P. Act no. 33 of 2021 .
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[Uttar Pradesh Industrial Peace (Timely Payment of Wages) Act, 1978]  
 
  
Provided that the Court may for any adequate and special
reasons to be recorded impose a 1 [penalty of less than rupees fifty
thousand].
Offences by
companies
6.(1) If the person committing an offence under this Act is a
company, the company as well as every person in charge of and
responsible to the company for the conduct of its business at the time of
the commission of the offence shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence
and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly :
Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render
any such person liable to any punishment if he proves that the offence
was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due
diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) where
any offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is
proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or
connivance of, or that the commission of offence is attributable to any
neglect on the part of any managing agent, secretaries and treasurers,
director, manager, or other officer of the company, such managing
agent, secretaries and treasurers, director, manager or other officer of
the company treasurers, director, manager or other officer of the
company shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be
liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Explanation — For the purpose of this section, —
(a) “company” means any body corporate and includes a firm or
other association of individuals, and
(b) “director” in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.
Protection
for action
taken in good
faith
7.No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against
any person for anything which is in good faith done or purported or
intended to be done in pursuance of the provisions of this Act or any
rule or order made thereunder.
Rule-making
power
8.The State Government may, by notification, make rules for
carrying out the purposes of this Act.
Repeal and
saving
U. P.
Ordinance
no. 20 of
1977
9.(1) The Uttar Pradesh Industrial Peace (Timely Payment of
Wages) Ordinance, 1977 is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action
taken under the aforesaid Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done
or taken under this Act as if the provisions of this Act were in force at all
material times.
1. Sub. By Sec. 2 (ii) of the U.P. Act no. 33 of 2021 .
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[Uttar Pradesh Industrial Peace (Timely Payment of Wages) Act, 1978]  
STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS
Delays in payment of wages of workmen lead to simmering discontent among
them. Sometimes a grave threat to law and order is also posed on this account.
2. The provisions of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 have been found to be
inadequate to ensure timely payment of wages. The incidence of disturbance of
industrial peace being greater in comparatively bigger establishments, it was
considered necessary to provide that if the wage bill in default exceeds fifty thousand
rupees the amount should be recoverable as arrears of land revenue. Further, in order
to curb the tendency of the employers to keep large amounts of wages in arrears, it was
also considered necessary to make it a penal offence to be in default of a wage bill
exceeding rupees one lakh. Since the State Legislature was not in session and the
situation warranted immediate action, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh promulgated the
Uttar Pradesh Industrial Peace (Timely Payment of Wages) Ordinance, 1977 on
December 12, 1977.
3. The Uttar Pradesh Industrial Peace (Timely Payment of Wages) Bill, 1978 is
accordingly being introduced to replace the said Ordinance.
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