This will apply to a factory with at least 10 workers if it has no power connection or at least 20 with one. At present, employees who have worked for at least 240 days are entitled to annual leave, being able to avail of these in the next calendar year.
This is one of 12 proposals of the state government, sent in the form of an ordinance, accepted by the Union labour ministry.
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The Madhya Pradesh government had in October last year sent proposals to amend 17 labour laws of the state, for approval by the President (needed as the subject is in the concurrent list of the Constitution, where the state may legislate but the Centre has final say). The state is set to send a revised ordinance in a week, incorporating the accepted provisions. Presidential assent is a subsequent step.
The Union labour ministry has accepted the state government's proposal to expedite the process of registration or grant of licences for establishments under the Contract Labour Act, Inter State Migrant Workers Act, Motor Transport Workers Act and Building & Other Construction Workers Act.
At present, establishments under these Acts have to apply for a registration or licence and wait till this comes. The approved proposal says if an application is not disposed within 30 days, it will be deemed registered or deemed an approved licence.
The Union ministry has also approved a proposal to allow companies in the state employing up to 300 people (up from 100 in the present provision) to retrench workers or shut the establishment without government approval. The notice period before retrenchment or closure has been increased from one to three months and the employees will be compensated with wages of at least three months.
In another move, builders will have to pay a considerably reduced cess for their construction work. At present, the government levies tax on construction activities to be paid by builders under section 3 of the Building and other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act.
"The cost of construction is open to interpretation. So, the builders or entrepreneurs end up paying a steep cess amount. We want to exclude elements such as the cost of plant and machinery from the ambit of calculation of tax under this Act," said the official cited above.
Along with the actual cost of the plant and machinery, its transportation and other items "as the state government may identify" will be excluded in calculating the tax.
"We may also choose not to interest other elements involved in the cost of construction such as bank interest, advertisement expenses, audit fees, etc," he said.
However, the Union labour ministry has raised questions over six proposals. These include excluding micro industries from the ambit of seven central labour laws, permission to prosecute under the Factories Act only with the labour commissioner's consent, no trade unions in micro industries and increasing the number of working hours in a week.