The government of India passed the CLRA or Contract Labour Regulation and Abolition Act in the year 1970. The terms of the Act help in averting the exploitation of subcontracting work and establishing better working conditions for contracted employees. Now let us see what is CLRA.
What is the CLRA Act?
As per the terms of the CLRA Act in India, all contract labours are indirect employees of the organization where they have been hired to work through a contractor.
Any establishment that employs contract labour needs to be registered under the Act and required a CLRA licence to continue its hiring process.
What is the CLRA licence applicability?
Let’s see where the CLRA license applicability applies to. The Contract Labour Act applies to any company or organization that has more than twenty people employed as paid labour for any day of the previous twelve months.
The CLRA license is not applicable in cases where the nature of the work of an establishment is seasonal or intermittent. However, the nature of the work shall be decided by the State or Central Government after consultation with respective boards of the establishments.
When should one apply for CLRA registration and licensing?
Any company or principal employer whose work and hiring patterns falls under the criteria of applicability of CLRA needs to apply for CLRA registration. Whereas the contractor requires a CLRA licence from the appropriate government for contracting workers to establishments.
What is the procedure for CLRA Registration?
The entire procedure for the registration of an organization under the Contract Labour Act is as follows:
- The foremost task is to obtain a registration form for applying.
- Fill in the application on Form No I.
- The principal employer should then take this Form-I along with the receipt of required fee payment to the Registration Office.
- If the application fulfils all the criteria provided in the annexure, a registering officer shall complete the registration for the organization.
What does the CLRA Registration certificate contain?
A Registration certificate for the Labour Act contains the following:
- The name and address of the establishment.
- The maximum number of contract labours that the organization can contract.
- The type of business being handled.
- Any other mandatory particulars, if required.
Documents Required for Registration:
The contractor presents the documents for registration to the employer for approval. They are:
- Copy of the report that shows the legal status of the firm.
- A photo of the document with allotted PF Code No.
- Copy of the insurance policy or receipt or the cover note that has been received.
- Challan copies to prove remittance of security deposit.
- The licence fee for receiving the licence.
What is the Procedure for obtaining CLRA Licence?
You can find the steps for obtaining a CLRA licence online. However, here a few important steps that need to be performed.
- The contractor has to fill the application for grant of a licence in Form No-IV.
- Put in a request with the Licensing Authority along with the application.
- Security amount of Rs.20 to be deposited at the time of application.
- Receipt of the fee paid to the licencing officer.
- Certificate by the principal employer in Form-V, stating that he employs the applicant as the contractor for his establishment.
- The licensing officer grants a license in Form VI after making the necessary checks.
- This license can be renewed from time to time.
The responsibilities of the CLRA Act, its licence and registration are an ambiguous relationship between the principal employer and the contractor. That is to make sure that all the requirements are fulfilled, and labours get fair work.
