(1)

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a) “appropriate Government” means,—

(2)

any establishment of any railway, Cantonment Board, major port, mine or oil-field; or

(3)

any establishment of a banking or insurance company,

the Central Government;

(ii) in relation to any other establishment, the Government of the State in which that other establishment is situated;

(b) “contractor”, in relation to an establishment, means a person who undertakes (whether as an independent contractor, agent, employee or otherwise) to produce a given result for the establishment, other than mere supply of goods or articles of manufacture to such establishment, by the employment of workmen or to supply workmen to the establishment, and includes a sub-contractor, Khatadar, Sardar, agent or any other person, by whatever name called, who recruits or employs workmen;

(c) “controlled industry” means any industry the control of which by the Union has been declared by any Central Act to be expedient in the public interest;

(d) “establishment” means—

(i) any office or department of the Government or a local authority; or

(ii) any place where any industry, trade, business, manufacture or occupation is carried on; (e) “inter-State migrant workman” means any person who is recruited by or through a contractor in one State under an agreement or other arrangement for employment in an establishment in another State, whether with or without the knowledge of the principal employer in relation to such establishment;

(f) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(g) “principal employer” means,—

(i) in relation to any office or department of the Government or a local authority, the head of that office, department or authority or such other officer as the Government or the local authority, as the case may be, may specify in this behalf;

(ii) in relation to a factory, the owner or occupier of the factory and where a person has been named as the manager of the factory under the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948), the person so named;

(iii) in relation to a mine, the owner or agent of the mine and where a person has been named as the manager of the mine, the person so named;

(iv) in relation to any other establishment, any person responsible for the supervision and control of the establishment.

(h) “recruitment” includes entering into any agreement or other arrangement for recruitment and all its grammatical variations and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

(i) “wages” shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (vi) of section 2 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (4 of 1936);

(j) “workman” means any person employed in or in connection with the work of any establishment to do any skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled, manual, supervisory, technical or clerical work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, but does not include any such person—

(2)

Any reference in this Act to any law which is not in force in any area shall, in relation to that area, be construed as a reference to the corresponding law, if any, in force in that area.