(1) This Act may be cited as the Budgetary Relief Allowance of Workers Act, No. 36 of 2005.

(2) The provisions of this Act shall be deemed for all purposes to have come into operation on August 1, 2005.

(1) The Commissioner shall be the Competent Authority for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The Competent Authority may delegate to any officer of the Department of Labour any power, function or duty conferred or imposed on, or assigned to, such authority by this Act.

(1) With effect from August 1, 2005 every employer in any trade shall in respect of each month pay to every worker employed by him, a Budgetary Relief Allowance (hereinafter referred to as "the allowance"), calculated on the following basis :-

(2) A worker whose wages or salary for a month exceeds twenty thousand rupees but does not exceed twenty one thousand rupees, shall in respect of each month be paid as allowance an amount equivalent to the difference between twenty one thousand rupees and the amount drawn by such worker as wages or salary for that month.

(3) A worker who has received a wage or salary increase during the month of October 2004 or thereafter, shall be entitled to an allowance under subsection (1) taking into consideration the amount equivalent to the difference between one thousand rupees and the amount of such wage or salary increase.

(4) A worker who is covered by

shall not be entitled to an allowance under subsection (1).

(5) The Minister may, taking into consideration the relevant economic conditions prevailing in relation to any trade, defer by Order published in the Gazette, the operation of the provisions of this section in relation to any trade specified in such Order, to such date as may be specified therein :

Provided that, any deferment in terms of this subsection shall not extend beyond a period of six months from the date of the making of such Order.

(1) The employer of a worker in any trade shall from and after the date of the coming into operation of this Act, maintain and keep in the premises in which that trade is carried on, a register setting out-

(2) Every register maintained under subsection (1), shall be preserved for a period of six years by the employer. Every employer shall when required by the Commissioner, produce such register for inspection or furnish a true copy thereof or permit a copy of such to be made.

(a) to enter and inspect at all reasonable hours of the day or night at any place in which workers in any trade are employed, for the purpose of examining any register or for ascertaining whether the provisions of this Act are being complied with ; or

(b) where no such register is available for examination when he inspects such place, to require the production of such register on a specified later date for examination at such place or at the office of such authority ; or

(c) to take copies of the whole or any part of any such register; or

(d) to question any person whom he finds in such place and whom he has reasonable cause to believe is an employer of workers employed in any trade carried on in such place ; or

(e) to direct, in writing, any employer of workers employed in any trade to furnish him on or before a specified date, with-

(a) fails to furnish the competent authority with such assistance as is necessary for any entry or inspection or for the exercise of his powers under section 6; or

(b) hinders or obstructs such authority in the exercise of the powers conferred by that section ; or

(c) refuses to produce any register or furnish any information which such authority requires him to produce or furnish ; or

(d) makes or causes to be made in any register, any false statement or makes or causes or knowingly permits to be produced, any register containing a false statement to such authority, knowing the same to be false; or

(e) furnishes any information to such authority acting under the powers conferred by that section, knowing the same to be false ; or

(f) fails to comply with any directions given by such authority under section 6, or who, when called upon to furnish a return under that section, knowingly, makes or furnishes, or causes to be made or furnished, a return containing any false statement,

(a) contributions to Employees' Provident Fund, Employees Trust Fund and pension ;

(b) annual holiday remuneration ;

(c) overtime remuneration ;

(d) maternity benefit payments ; and

(e) gratuity,

(1) Any employer who fails to pay a sum required to be paid to a worker under this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction before a Magistrate to a fine not exceeding ten thousand rupees or to imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(2) Upon conviction by the Magistrate of an employer for failure to pay any sum required to be paid to a worker under this Act, the Court shall, in addition to the penalty imposed for such offence order such employer to pay such sum to such worker within a period specified in the Order, and if the sum is not so paid, such sum shall be recovered by Order of Court, as if it were a fine imposed by the Court and paid to such worker.

(1) Where an employer has been convicted for failure to pay any sum required to be paid to a worker of such employer under this Act, then, if a notice in the prescribed form of intention so to do has been served on the employer at any time before the date of commencement of the trial, evidence may be given of any failure on the part of the employer to pay any sum in accordance with the provisions of this Act to that worker or any other worker or workers at any time during the six years preceding the date on which the complaint was made to Court of the offence of which the employer has been so convicted and, on proof of the failure, the Court may Order the employer to pay such sum as it may be found by the Court to be due from him to such worker or workers. Any sum ordered to be paid under this subsection may be recovered in the same manner as a fine imposed by Court.

(2) In this section "prescribed" means prescribed by regulation made under section 11.

(1) The Minister may make regulations in respect of matters for which regulations are authorized or required to be made under this Act.

(2) Every regulation made by the Minister shall be published in the Gazette and shall come into operation on the date of such publication or on such later date as may be specified in the regulation.

(3) Every regulation made by the Minister shall, as soon as convenient after its publication in the Gazette, be brought before Parliament for approval. Any regulation which is not so approved shall be deemed to be rescinded as from the date of such disapproval but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder.

(4) Notification of the date on which any regulation made by the Minister is so deemed to be rescinded shall be published in the Gazette.

(a) the contractual wage or salary of the worker or the wage prescribed by the relevant Wages Board for the trade to which the worker belongs ; and

(b) any amount payable to the worker under the Interim Devaluation Allowance of Employees Act, No. 40 of 1968.