Kerala Shops & Commercial Establishments Workers Welfare Fund Act, 2006
No: 24 Dated: Oct, 31 2006
KERALA SHOPS AND COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS WORKERS' WELFARE FUND ACT, 2006
[Act No. 24 of 2006]
An Act to provide for the constitution of a Fund to grant relief to, to promote the welfare of and to pay pension to workers coming under the purview of the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1960 and self employed persons.
Whereas, it is expedient to provide for the constitution of a Fund to grant relief to, to promote the welfare of and to pay pension to workers coming under the purview of the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1960 and self employed persons and for certain other matters incidental thereto;
Be it enacted in the Fifty-seventh Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title and commencement:- (1) This Act may be called the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Workers' Welfare Fund Act, 2006.
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions:- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "Board" means the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Workers' Welfare Fund Board constituted under Section 6;
(b) "Chief Executive Officer" means the Chief Executive Officer appointed under sub-section (1) of Section 9;
(c) "Contribution" means the sum of money payable to the Fund under Section 4;
(d) "employer" means a person who employs, directly or indirectly, whether on behalf of himself or for any other person, one or more workers to do any work in institutions including hospital, nursing home, ayurvedic pharmacy, dispensary, medical shop, paramedical institution, parcel service, petrol-diesel-autogas bunks, fish processing establishment, food processing establishment, textile manufacturing establishment, hotel, restaurant, meat shop, computer-computer allied service establishment, printing press, telephone booth, courier service, cooking gas distribution agency, hostel, hill produce-procurement and marketing establishment, small scale copra processing unit, small scale oil mill, leather procurement establishment, small scale foot wear-bag manufacturing establishment, cinema theatre, photo/video studio, bakery, automobile-engineering establishment, establishment providing sound, light and decoration or in trade/commercial establishments coming under the purview of the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1960, (34 of 1960);
(e) "family" means,--
(i) husband/wife, their minor children, unmarried daughters; and
(ii) father, mother and widowed daughters who are dependent on the worker or self employed person, coming under the purview of the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act;
(f) "Fund" means the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Workers' Welfare Fund established under Section 3;
(g) "Worker" means an employee coming under the purview of the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1960 (34 of 1960) and includes a person employed in Establishments including hospitals, nursing home, ayurvedic pharmacy, dispensary, medical shop, paramedical institution, parcel service, petrol-diesel autogas bunks, fish processing establishment, food processing establishment, textile manufacturing establishment, hotel, restaurant, meat shop, computer-computer allied service establishment, printing press, telephone booth, courier service, cooking gas distribution agency, hostel, hill produce-procurement and marketing establishment, small scale copra processing unit, small scale oil mill, leather procurement establishment, small scale foot wear-bag manufacturing establishment, cinema theatre, photo/video studio, bakery, automobile-engineering establishment, establishment providing sound, light and decoration or in trade/commercial establishments and who receives wages from the employer directly or otherwise or through contractor or agent or by agreement or otherwise or a self employed person and any other person, declared by the Government from time to time, by notification in the Gazette, for the purposes of this Act to be an employee coming under the purview of the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act:
Provided that the workers employed in the establishments where the Factories Act, 1948 or the Plantation Labour Act, 1951 are applicable, shall not include under the purview of this Act;
(h) "member" means a member of the Fund;
(i) "person" includes a company, a firm, and association of individuals or a co-operative society registered or deemed to have been registered under the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969 (21 of 1969);
(j) "schedule" means the schedule to this Act;
(k) "scheme" means a scheme framed under Section 3;
(l) "self employed person" means a person who actually engages himself mainly in a work coming under the purview of the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1960 for the livelihood, without employing any workers, and which does not include a person who is a member of Vyapari Vyavasayi Welfare Fund or Ration Dealers Welfare Fund;
(m) "wages" means the total amount received by an employee including dearness allowance and other allowances in a calender month;
(n) "year" means a financial year commencing on the 1st day of April.