Labour and Labour Welfare in Special Economic Zones in India with Special Reference to Gujarat

Abstract

This article discusses welfare measures in the formal sector being constrained by labour legislation which is, at best, empirically fragile. This very fragility requires us to view labour laws and possible reforms using conceptual frames that are not preoccupied with de jure legislation but rather focus on the actual implementation of the law considering judicial and executive practice. Various factors taken together complemented by empirical work in Gujarat reflect that while labour laws are supposed to be operational in a special economic zones (SEZ), they are almost absent in practice. This study is based on both theoretical and empirical methods. This study suggests systematic non-implementation of labour welfare measures that have a negative implication on workers in each and every way possible. This has led the workers in SEZs to earn their living in an atmosphere of threat, fear and uncertainty.

Keywords

Gujarat labour labour welfare special economic zone working condition exploitation

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