Updated: Saturday December 14, 2013/AsSabt
Safar 11, 1435/Sanivara
Agrahayana 23, 1935, at 06:48:48 PM
[1][1]The
(Pb Ordinance XIII of 1971)
[
An
Ordinance to provide for the establishment of fair price shops in certain
factories in the
Preamble.— WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the
establishment and maintenance of fair price shops for the sale of certain
articles of daily use at cheaper rates to the workers employed in certain
factories in the Punjab;
NOW, THEREFORE, in pursuance of the Martial Law
Proclamation of 25th March, 1969, read with the Provisional Constitution Order,
and in exercise of all powers enabling him in that behalf, the Governor of the
Punjab is pleased to make and promulgate the following Ordinance:-
1. Short
title, extent and commencement.— (1) This Ordinance may be called the Punjab Fair
Price Shops (Factories) Ordinance, 1971.
(2) It shall extend to whole of the
(3) It shall come into force on such date,
in such areas and shall apply to such factories or class of factories as
Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, specify in that
behalf.
2. Definitions.— In this Ordinance, unless the context
otherwise requires, the following expressions shall have the meanings hereby
respectively assigned to them, that is to say—
(a) “Chief
Inspector” means a Chief Inspector appointed under section 12 of this Ordinance
and includes a person appointed by Government to perform all or any of the
functions of a Chief Inspector in any area;
(b) “collective
bargaining agent” means a registered trade union of workers in a factory to act
as agent or representative of workers in matters of collective bargaining with
the employer and where there are more than one registered trade union in a
factory, the trade union which as a result of a referendum held under section
22 of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969, has been determined as a
collective bargaining agent;
(c) “employer”
means a person or body of persons whether incorporated or not, who or which
employ workers in a factory and includes an owner, occupier, manager, agent,
representative, or any other person who is ultimately in supervision, control
and management thereof;
(d) “essential
articles” mean articles mentioned in the Schedule to this Ordinance and include
any other article which the Government may, by notification, declare to be an
essential article for the purposes of this Ordinance;
(e) “factory”
means any premises including a part thereof on which any manufacturing process
is carried on with the aid of power but does not include a mine;
(f) “fair
price” means the price at which an essential article is purchased or procured
by the employer under section 7 of the Ordinance, or controlled price, if any,
fixed by the Government for the same essential article, whichever is less, and
where an essential article manufactured or produced in a factory is to be
supplied by that factory for the fair price shop thereof, the ex-factory wholesale price of such
article;
(g) “fair
price shop” means a shop established and maintained by an employer in or near a
factory for selling essential articles at fair price to the workers of his
factory and includes any room or premises where stock of essential articles is
kept or stored;
(h) “family”
means—
(i) wife or husband, as the case may be, and
children of a worker; and
(ii) parents, brothers and sisters of a worker
residing with and wholly dependant upon him;
(i) “Government”
means Government of the
(j) “Inspector”
means an Inspector appointed under section 12 of the Ordinance;
(k) “Managing
Committee” means a Managing Committee constituted under section 10 of the
Ordinance;
(l) “prescribed”
means prescribed by rules framed under this Ordinance; and
(m) “worker” means a person, other than an
employer, employed in a factory for doing any skilled, unskilled, manual or
clerical work for hire or reward, and employed whether directly or through a
contractor, on the terms of employment either expressed or implied and includes
an apprentice and a laid off worker.
3. Establishment of fair price shops.— Every employer of a factory to which this
Ordinance is applied shall, within one month from the date of its application,
establish and maintain a fair price shop for the workers of his factory:
Provided that Government may, for sufficient reasons, by
an order in writing extend the said period in respect of any factory or class
of factories.
4. Keeping of sufficient stocks.— An employer shall at all times keep and
maintain or cause to be kept or maintained in the fair price shop sufficient
stock and quantity of all essential articles to cater for the needs of the
workers.
5. Display of list of fair prices.— Every employer shall cause to be prepared in
Urdu and displayed prominently inside and outside the fair price shop, lists
showing the fair price of each and every essential article and no such article
shall be sold or allowed to be sold at a price higher than the price entered
therein.
6. Monthly quota for a worker.— A worker may in a month buy from the fair
price shop of the factory in which he is employed, such length, number or
quantity of all or any of the essential articles as may be determined by the
Managing Committee.
7. Purchase and procurement of essential
articles.— (1) For the
purpose of maintaining adequate supply at a fair price shop, the employer shall
purchase or procure manufactured essential articles from the manufacturing
factories at whole sale ex-factory
price and agricultural and other essential articles from the nearest whole sale
market at the minimum rates prevalent in such market at the time of purchase or
procurement.
(2) In the purchase or procurement of
essential articles under sub-section (1), the employer shall make interest-free
investment.
8. Sale of essential articles.— The essential articles at the fair price
shop shall be sold to the workers at the fair price and the employer shall not
charge or allow to be charged any profit whatsoever thereon, nor he shall
include or add to the price of such articles any rent of the fair price shop,
salary of the staff employed therein, water and electricity charges in respect
thereof, fees or commission for auditing and maintenance of accounts, price of
stationery, furniture or fixtures used therein, or any packing, handling,
transportation or other incidental charges in respect of such articles.
9. Purchase of articles on credit basis.— Notwithstanding anything contained in the
Payment of Wages Act, 1936, a worker shall, during every month, be entitled to
purchase on credit basis from the fair price shop, essential articles of the
value not exceeding twenty-five per cent of his monthly wages:
Provided
that unless a worker has paid the price of essential articles purchased on
credit in a month, he shall not be entitled to purchase such articles on credit
in the following month or months and the employer in that case shall be
competent to deduct the outstanding amount of credit from his monthly wages.
10. Constitution of Managing Committee.— (1) As soon as may be, for every factory
there shall be constituted a Managing Committee consisting of four members and
a Chairman:
Provided that Government may, for sufficient reasons, by
notification, increase or decrease the number of members of such Committee.
(2) Out of the total number of the members
of the Managing Committee, half of the members shall be nominated by the
collective bargaining agent and the remaining half by the employer:
Provided that where the collective bargaining agent or
the employer, as the case may be, fails to nominate all or any of their members
to the Managing Committee within the time specified by the Chief Inspector such
members shall be nominated by the Chief Inspector himself:
Provided further that where there is no collective
bargaining agent in a factory, the representatives of workers in the Managing
Committee shall be elected in the prescribed manner.
(3) Members
of the Managing Committee may, in the prescribed manner, unanimously nominate
in writing, a person other than a person from among themselves, to be the
Chairman of such Committee and shall convey their nomination to the Chief
Inspector within the prescribed period.
(4) In case the members are unable to
nominate the Chairman under sub-section (3), the Chief Inspector shall nominate
a person, other than a member of the Managing Committee, as the Chairman.
(5) The normal term of the Managing
Committee shall be two years from the date of its constitution:
Provided
that the Government may, for sufficient reasons, reduce or enhance its normal
term or dissolve it before the expiry of the term and reconstitute it according
to the provisions of this Ordinance.
(6) The
Chairman and the members of the Managing Committee shall not be paid any
remuneration or compensation for the functions performed by them under this
Ordinance and the rules made thereunder.
11. Functions of the Managing Committee.— (1) The functions of the Managing Committee
shall be—
(a) to
determine the quality and quantities of essential articles to be purchased or
procured by the employer at a time and the quantities of such articles which
should normally be available for sale to the worker at a fair price shop;
(b) to
check the quality of essential articles sold at the fair price shop;
(c) to determine the length, number and quantity
of different essential articles which a worker shall be entitled to purchase
from the fair price shop for himself and his family during a month;
(d) to
fix opening and closing hours of the fair price shops and to regularise
transaction of business therein ; and
(e) to
perform any function which the Government may, by a general or special order,
deem fit to assign.
(2) The provisions of clause (d) of
sub-section (1) shall take effect notwithstanding anything to the contrary
contained in the West Pakistan Shops and Establishments Ordinance, 1969, or any
other law for the time being in force.
12. Appointment of Inspectors and Chief
Inspector and their functions.—
(1) Government may appoint Inspectors for the purpose of this Ordinance and the
Inspector so appointed shall have jurisdiction in such area or areas as the Government
may direct.
(2) The Inspectors appointed under
sub-section (1) shall have the authority—
(a) to
enter a fair price shop and to check the quantity and examine the quality of
essential articles being sold or stocked for sale therein; and
(b) to
check and examine documents, record or registers kept and maintained in the
fair price shop and, if necessary to take extracts therefrom.
(3) Government shall appoint a Chief
Inspector for the Province or in any part thereof, who in addition to his exclusive
powers conferred on him under this Ordinance, shall exercise all or any of the
powers of an Inspector throughout the Province or in any part thereof.
(4) All the Inspectors and the Chief
Inspector shall, while exercising powers under this Ordinance and the rules
made thereunder, be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section
21 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
13. Penalty.— (1) Whoever contravenes
any of the provisions of this Ordinance or rules made thereunder, shall be
punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one year or with fine which
may extend to five thousand rupees or with both, and in case of a continuing
offence, with a further fine which may extend to one hundred rupees for every
day after the first day during which the offence continued.
(2) Whoever
having been convicted of any offence under this Ordinance again commits such
offence shall, on conviction, be liable to double the punishment provided for
such offence under this Ordinance.
14. Cognizance and trial of offences.— (1) No court inferior to that of a
magistrate of the first class shall try any offence under this Ordinance or any
rule made thereunder.
(2) No court shall take cognizance of any
offence under this Ordinance or the rules made thereunder, except on the report
in writing of the facts constituting such offence, made by the Inspector.
15. Indemnity.— No suit, prosecution, or other legal
proceedings shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith
done or intended to be done under this Ordinance.
16. Exemption.— Government may, by notification in the
official Gazette, exempt any factory from all or any of the provisions of this
Ordinance for such period and on such conditions as it may deem fit.
17. Power to make rules.— (1) Government may make rules for the
purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of
the power conferred by sub-section (1), such rules may provide for all or any
of the following matters :-
(a) Procedure
for holding ballots for the election of representatives of workers to the
Managing Committee in case there is no collective bargaining agent in any
factory.
(b) Procedure
for nominating the Chairman of a Managing Committee.
(c) Procedure
for convening and holding of meetings by the Managing Committee.
(d) Manner
in which questions raised before the Committee shall be decided, minutes of
meetings shall be recorded and decisions of the Committee shall be implemented.
(e) Manner
and form in which the record and accounts shall be maintained and scrutinized.
(f) Manner
in which the Chief Inspector and the Inspectors shall exercise their powers
under the Ordinance.
(g) Any
other matter consequential or incidental to the aforesaid matters.
SCHEDULE
[See SECTION 2 (d)]
Serial
No. Name
of essential articles
1. Wheat.
2. Pulses.
3. Wheat
flour.
4. Vegetable
ghee.
5. Coarse
cloth.
6. Laundry
soap.
7. Sugar.
[1][1]This Ordinance was
promulgated by the Governor of Punjab on 30th July, 1971; published in the
Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 3rd July, 1971, pages 783 to 790; saved
by Article 281 of the Interim Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
(1972); and, validated by the Validation of Laws Act, 1975 (XLIII of 1975).
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