The Mines Act, 1952 – Simplynotes – Industrial Relations – H.R.M.

Chapter VII

Leave with Wages

49. Leave defined

For the purposes of this Chapter leave shall not, except as provided in section 51, include weekly days of rest or holidays for festivals or other similar occasions.

50. Application of Chapter

The provisions of this Chapter shall not operate to the prejudice of any rights to which a person employed in a  mine may be entitled under any other law for the time being in force or under  the terms of any award, agreement or contract of service, and, where any such award, agreement or contract of service provides for a longer leave with wages than is provided in this Chapter, such person shall be entitled to such longer leave only.

51. Annual leave with wages

(1) Every person employed in a mine who has completed a period of twelve months’ continuous service therein shall be allowed, during the subsequent period of twelve months, leave with full pay or wages based on the average pay or wages for the twelve months immediately preceding the leave, as provided in section 52, and such leave shall be calculated at the rate of

(i) if he is an employee paid by the month, fourteen days for such period of twelve months;

(ii) if he is an employee paid by the week, or a loader, or other person employed below ground on a piecerate basis, seven days for such period of twelve months.

(2) The twelve months’ continuous service referred to in subsection (1) shall deemed to have been completed,

(a) in the case of a loader, or other person employed below ground on a piecerate basis, if he has during the said period of twelve months put in not less than one hundred and ninety attendances at the mine;

(b) in the case of a person employed above ground on a piecerate basis or in the case of any other person who is paid by the month, week or day, if he has during the said period of twelve months put in not less than two hundred and sixtyfive attendances at the mine.

Explanation.In either of the above cases the period of leave shall be inclusive of the weekly days of rest and any holiday (if granted) which may occur during such period.

(3) If any person employed in a mine who is paid by the month does not in any one such period of twelve months take the whole of the leave allowed to him under subsection (1), any leave not taken by him shall be added to the leave to be allowed to him under that subsection in the succeeding period of twelve months:

Provided that the total number of days of leave which may be accumulated by any such person shall not exceed twentyeight days in all.

(4) Any such person may, during any such period of twelve months, apply in writing to the manager  of the mine, not less than fifteen full working days before the day on which he wishes his leave to begin, for all leave or any portion thereof allowable to him during that period under subsections (1) and (3).

(5) No application for leave made in accordance with the provisions of this section shall ordinarily be refused, unless the authority empowered to grant the leave is of the opinion that owing to the exigencies of the situation the leave should be refused.

(6) If any person entitled to leave under this section is discharged from the mine before he has taken or has been allowed to take the entire leave to which he is entitled, the owner, agent or manager of the mine shall pay to him the pay or wages payable under section 51 in respect of the leave not taken and such payment shall be made before the expiry of the second working day after the day on which his employment is terminated.

Explanation 1.-For the purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed to have completed a period of continuous service in a mine, notwithstanding any interruption of service during that period brought about by

(i) sickness, accident or authorised leave not exceeding in the aggregate onesixth of that period, or

(ii) a strike, which is not an illegal strike, or

(iii) a lockout, or

(iv) one or more periods of involuntary unemployment not exceeding in the aggregate onetwelfth of the period, or

(v) leave admissible or granted under any other law.

Explanation 2.Authorised leave shall include any casual absence due to any reasonable cause:

Provided that the person concerned, within a week from the commencement of the absence, gives the reasons for such absence in writing to the owner, agent or manager of the mine, and any such period of authorised leave may include periods of unauthorised leave not exceeding in the aggregate onethirtysixth of the period of continuous service, but not weekly days of rest allowed under section 28 which occurs at the beginning or end of an interruption brought about by the leave.

Explanation 3 “Illegal strike” means a strike which is an illegal strike within the meaning of section 24 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (XIV of 1947) or of any other law for the time being in force.

52. Wages during leave period

(1) For the leave allowed to a loader, or other person employed below ground on a piecerate basis, he shall be paid at a rate equal to the daily average of his earnings for the month of December prior to his leave:

Provided that if no such average earnings are available, then the average shall be computed on the basis of the daily average earnings of all persons similarly employed for the same month, and for the purpose of such computation the cash equivalent of the advantage accruing to such persons through the free issue of food grains and any compensation in cash drawn by them during the said month shall be taken into account.

(2) For the leave allowed to a person employed in a mine who is paid by the month or week he shall be paid at a rate equal to his normal daily wages during the week preceding his leave, and in computing such wages the cash equivalent of the advantage accruing to him through the free issue of food grains and any compensation in cash drawn by him shall also be taken into account.

53. Payment in advance in certain cases

Any person employed in a mine who has been allowed leave for not less than ten days in the case of a person paid by the month, and five days, either in the case of a person paid by the week or in the case of a loader, or other person employed below ground on a piecerate basis, shall, before his leave begins, be paid the wages due for the period of the leave allowed.

54. Power of Inspector to act for an employee

Any Inspector may institute proceedings on behalf of any person employed in a mine to recover any sum required to be paid by an employer under this Chapter, which has not been paid by the employer.

55. Power to make rules

The Central Government may, by rules, prescribe the maintenance by owners, agents or managers of mines of registers showing such particulars as may be required for the purposes of this Chapter and requiring such registers to be made available for examination by Inspectors.

56. Power to exempt mines

Where the Central Government is satisfied that the leave rules applicable to persons employed in any mine provide benefits which in its opinion are not less favourable than those provided for in this Chapter, it may, by order in writing and subject to such conditions as may be specified therein, exempt the mine from all or any of the provisions of this Chapter.

The Mines Act, 1952 – Simplynotes – Industrial Relations – H.R.M.
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