2. (1) In this Code, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a) "adolescent" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (i) of section 2 of the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986;

(b) "adult" means a person who has completed his eighteenth year of age;

(c) "agent" when used in relation to a mine, means every person, whether appointed as such or not, who, acting or purporting to act on behalf of the owne, takes part in the management, control, supervision or direction of such mine or of any part thereof;

(d) "appropriate Government" means—

(i) in relation to, establishments [other than those specified in sub-clause (ii)] carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government or concerning any such controlled industry as may be specified in this behalf by the Central Government or the establishment of railways including metro railways, mines, oil field, major ports, air transport service or telecommunication service, banking company or any insurance company (by whatever name called) established by a Central Act or a corporation or other authority established by a Central Act or a Central public sector undertaking or subsidiary companies set up by the Central public sector undertakings or autonomous bodies owned or controlled by the Central Government, including establishment of contractors for the purposes of such establishment, corporation or other authority, Central public sector undertakings, subsidiary companies or autonomous bodies, as the case may be, the Central Government:

Provided that in the case of Central Public Sector Undertakings the appropriate Government shall continue to be the Central Government even if the holding of the Central Government reduces to less than fifty per cent.equity of the Central Government in that Public Sector Undertakings after the commencement of this Code; and

(ii) in relation to a factory, motor transport undertaking, plantation, newspaper establishment and establishment relating to beedi and cigar including the establishments not specified in clause (i), the concerned State Government where it is situated.

Explanation.—For the removal of doubts it is hereby clarified that State Government shall be the appropriate Government in respect of occupational safety, health and working conditions in a factory situated in that State;

(e) "audio-visual production" means audio-visual produced wholly or partly in India and includes—

(i) animation, cartoon depiction, audio-visual advertisement;

(ii) digital production or any of the activities in respect of making thereof; and

(iii) features films, non-feature films, television, web-based serials, talk shows, reality shows and sport shows;

(f) "audio-visual worker" means a person, who is employed, directly or through any contractor, in or in connection with the audio-visual production to work as an artist including actor, musician, singer, anchor, news reader, dancer, dubbing artist or stunt person or to do any work, skilled, unskilled, manual, supervisory, technical, artistic or otherwise, and his remuneration with respect to such employment in or in connection with the production of audio-visual does not exceed, where remuneration is by way of monthly wages or where such remuneration is by way of lump sum, in each case, such amount as may be notified by the Central Government;

(g) "banking company" means a banking company as defined in clause (c) of section 5 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and includes the Export-Import Bank of India, the Industrial Reconstruction Bank of India, the Small Industries Development Bank of India established under section 3 of the Small Industries Development Bank of India Act, 1989, the Reserve Bank of India, the State Bank of India, a corresponding new bank constituted under section 3 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and

Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, a corresponding new bank constituted under section 3 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980;

(h) "building or other construction work" means the construction, alteration, repairs, maintenance or demolition in relation to buildings, streets, roads, railways, tramways, airfields, irrigation, drainage, embankment and navigation works, flood control works (including storm water drainage works), generation, transmission and distribution of power, water works (including channels for distribution of water), oil and gas installations, electric lines, internet towers, wireless, radio, television, telephone, telegraph and overseas communications, dams, canals, reservoirs, watercourses, tunnels, bridges, viaducts, aqua-ducts, pipelines, towers, cooling towers, transmission towers and such other work as may be specified in this behalf by the Central Government, by notification, but does not include building or other construction work which is related to any factory or mine and the building or other construction work where such work is for own residential purposes of an individual or group of individuals for their own residence and the total cost of such work does not exceed rupees fifty lakhs or such higher amount and employing more than such number of workers as may be notified by the appropriate Government;

(i) "building worker" means a person who is employed to do any highly skilled, skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled, manual, technical or clerical work for hire or reward, whether the terms of such employment are express or implied, in connection with any building or other construction work, but does not include any such person who is employed mainly in a managerial or supervisory or administrative capacity;

(j) "cargo" includes anything carried or to be carried in a ship or other vessel, or vehicle;

(k) "Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator" means a Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator appointed under sub-section (5) of section 34;

(l) "competent person", means a person or an institution recognised as such by the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator for the purposes of carrying out tests, examinations and inspections required to be done in an establishment having regard to—

(i) the qualifications and experience of the person and facilities available at his disposal; or

(ii) the qualifications and experience of the persons employed in such institution and facilities available therein:

Provided that in case of mines the competent person includes such other person who is authorised by the manager referred to in section 67 to supervise or perform any work, or to supervise the operation of machinery, plant or equipment and is responsible for such duties assigned to him and also includes a shot firer or blaster;

(m) "contract labour" means a worker who shall be deemed to be employed in or in connection with the work of an establishment when he is hired in or in connection with such work by or through a contractor, with or without the knowledge of the principal employer and includes inter-State migrant worker but does not include a worker (other than part time employee) who is regularly employed by the contractor for any activity of his establishment and his employment is governed by mutually accepted standards of the conditions of employment (including engagement on permanent basis), and gets periodical increment in the pay, social security coverageand other welfare benefits in accordance with the law for the time being in force in such employment;

(n) "contractor", in relation to an establishment, means a person, who—

(i) undertakes to produce a given result for the establishment, other than a mere supply of goods or articles of manufacture to such establishment, through contract labour; or

(ii) supplies contract labour for any work of the establishment as mere human resource, and includes a sub-contractor;

(o) "controlled industry" means any industry the control of which by the Central Government has been declared under any Central Act in the public interest;

(p) "core activity of an establishment" means any activity for which the establishment is set up and includes any activity which is essential or necessary to such activity:

Provided that the following shall not be considered as essential or necessary activity, if the establishment is not set up for such activity, namely:—

(i) sanitation works, including sweeping, cleaning, dusting and collection and disposal of all kinds of waste;

(ii) watch and ward services including security services;

(iii) canteen and catering services;

(iv) loading and unloading operations;

(v) running of hospitals, educational and training Institutions, guest houses, clubs and the like where they are in the nature of support services of an establishment;

(vi) courier services which are in nature of support services of an establishment;

(vii) civil and other constructional works, including maintenance;

(viii) gardening and maintenance of lawns and other like activities;

(ix) housekeeping and laundry services, and other like activities, where these are in nature of support services of an establishment;

(x) transport services including, ambulance services;

(xi) any activity of intermittent nature even if that constitutes a core activity of an establishment;

(q) "day" means a period of twenty-four hours beginning at mid-night;

(r) "District Magistrate", in relation to any mine, means the District Magistrate or the Deputy Commissioner, as the case may be, who is vested with the executive powers of maintaining law and order in the revenue district in which the mine is situated:

Provided that in case of a mine, which is situated partly in one district and partly in another, the District Magistrate for the purpose shall be the District Magistrate authorised in this behalf by the Central Government;

(s) "dock work" means any work in or within the vicinity of any port in connection with, or required for, or incidental to, the loading, unloading, movement or storage of cargoes into or from ship or other vessel, port, dock, storage place or landing place, and includes—

(i) work in connection with the preparation of ships or other vessels for receipt or discharge of cargoes or leaving port;

(ii) all repairing and maintenance processes connected with any hold, tank structure or lifting machinery or any other storage area on board the ship or in the docks; and

(iii) chipping, painting or cleaning of any hold, tank, structure or lifting machinery or any other storage area on board the ship or in the docks;

(t) "employee" means,—

(i) in respect of an establishment, a person (other than an apprentice engaged under the Apprentices Act, 1961) employed on wages by an establishment to do any skilled, semi-skilled, unskilled, manual, operational, supervisory, managerial, administrative, technical, clerical or any other work, whether the terms of employment be express or implied; and

(ii) a person declared to be an employee by the appropriate Government,but does not include any member of the Armed Forces of the Union:

Provided that notwithstanding anything contained in this clause, in case of a mine a person is said to be "employed" in a mine who works as the manager or who works under appointment by the owner, agent or manager of the mine or with the knowledge of the manager, whether for wages or not—

(a) in any mining operation (including the concomitant operations of handling and transport of minerals up to the point of dispatch and of gathering sand and transport thereof to the mine);

(b) in operations or services relating to the development of the mine including construction of plant therein but excluding construction of buildings, roads, wells and any building work not directly connected with any existing or future mining operations;

(c) in operating, servicing, maintaining or repairing any part of any machinery used in or about the mine;

(d) in operations, within the premises of the mine, of loading for dispatch of minerals;

(e) in any office of mine;

(f) in any welfare, health, sanitary or conservancy services required to be provided under this Code relating to mine, or watch and ward, within the premises of the mine excluding residential area; or

(g) in any kind of work, whatsoever, which is preparatory or incidental to, or connected with, mining operations;

(u) "employer" means a person who employs, whether directly or through any person, or on his behalf, or on behalf of any person, one or more employees in his establishment and where the establishment is carried on by any Department of the Central Government or the State Government, the authority specified, by the head of