Question 10 from UPSC CSE 2021 - Current Affairs

Question

With reference to casual workers employed in India, consider the following statements:
1. All casual workers are entitled for Employees Provident Fund coverage.
2. All casual workers are entitled for regular working hours and overtime payment.
3. The government can by a notification specify that an establishment or industry shall pay wages only through its bank account.
Which of the above statements are correct?

IASCODEX · Accepted Answer

Correct Option: D. 1, 2, and 3

Strategy: Affirm all statements based on recent Supreme Court decisions, statutory reforms, and amendments to labour laws that extend protections to casual workers.

Key Info: Casual workers are individuals engaged informally, often without written contracts, in temporary or flexible tasks. While historically outside many labour protections, recent legal developments have expanded their rights.

## Employees' Provident Fund (EPF)
The Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, and the subsequent Code on Social Security, 2020, provide social security coverage to employees, including casual and contractual workers. The Supreme Court, in Pawan Hans Limited & Ors. vs Aviation Karmachari Sanghatana (2020), affirmed that all workers, including casual ones, are entitled to EPF if the establishment is covered by relevant statutes.

## Regular Working Hours & Overtime
The Code on Wages, 2019 (Sections 6, 7), and the Factories Act, 1948 (Section 59), ensure regulated working hours and minimum overtime payments for all employees, without differentiation between regular and casual status.

## Payment Through Bank Accounts
The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Act, 2017 amended the 1936 Act to empower governments to mandate payment of wages by cheque or directly to bank accounts via official notification. This enhances transparency and control over wage disbursement for any specified sector or establishment.

## Code on Social Security, 2020
This code consolidates social security laws for the formal and informal workforce, extending coverage to organized, unorganized, gig, and platform workers, with centrally and state-administered Social Security Funds.

## Labour Law Context
The distinction between different worker categories (regular, casual, contract) is gradually being eroded in core entitlements, per statutory and judicial developments. This aligns Indian law with international labour standards.

IASCODEX · Answer

Option A: 1 and 2 only

IASCODEX · Answer

Option B: 2 and 3 only

IASCODEX · Answer

Option C: 1 and 3 only