Rule 71. Responsibility of contractor under sub-section (4) of section 48

(1) The rates of wages payable to the workers by the contractor shall not be less than the rates prescribed under the Code on Wages, 2019 (Central Act No. 29 of 2019) and where the rates have been fixed by agreement, settlement or award, not less than the rates fixed.

(2) In case where the contract labour employed by the contractor performs the same or similar kind of work as the worker directly employed by the principal employer of the establishment, the holidays, hours of work and other conditions of service of the contract labour of the contractor shall be the same as applicable to the workers directly employed by the principal employer of the establishment on the same or similar kind of work. In case of any dispute whether the work is of similar kind, the matter be referred to the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator concerned, whose decision shall be final.

(3) In other cases, the wage rates, holidays, hours of work and conditions of service of the workers of the contractor shall be such as specified under the Code and rules made thereunder.

(4) All contract labour shall be made member of EPFO and ESIC subject to applicability as under respective provisions of the Code on Social Security, 2020.

(5) The contractor shall notify any change in the number of workers or conditions of work to the Licensing Authority, electronically.