Definitions

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- (a) "adult" means a person who has completed his eighteenth year of age; (b) "adolescent" means a person who has completed his fifteenth year of age but has not completed his eighteenth year of age; (c) "agricultural dispute" means any dispute or difference between landowners and landowners or between landowners and agricultural workers or between agricultural workers and agricultural workers which is connected with the employment or non-employment or the terms of employment or with the conditions of labour, of any person. Explanation.—Where any landowner discharges, dismisses, retrenches or otherwise terminates the services of, or denies employment to, an individual agricultural worker, any dispute or difference between that agricultural worker and his employer connected with, or arising out of, such discharge, dismissal, retirement, termination or denial of employment shall be deemed to be an agricultural dispute notwithstanding that no other agricultural worker nor any union of agricultural workers is a party to the dispute; (d) "agricultural land" means any land used for cultivation but does not include any plantation as defined in the Plantations Labour Act, 1951 (Central Act 69 of 1951); (e) "Agricultural Tribunal" means, in relation to any area, the Agricultural Tribunal constituted under this Act for that area; (f) "agricultural worker" means a person who, in consideration of the wages payable to him by a landowner, works on, or does any other agricultural operation in relation to, the agricultural land of such landowner; (g) "Board" means the Agricultural Workers' Welfare Fund Board constituted under section 11; (h) "child" means a person who has not completed his fifteenth year of age; (i) "Conciliation Officer" means, in relation to any area, the Conciliation Officer appointed under this Act for that area; (j) "family" means husband, wife and their unmarried minor children or such of them as exist; (k) "Fund" means the fund established in pursuance of sub-section (1) of section 8; (l) "inspector" means an inspector appointed under sub-section (1) of section 5 or deemed, under sub-section (3) of that section, to be appointed for the purposes of this Act; (m) "landowner" means,- (i) in relation to a land personally cultivated, the owner of such land; (ii) in relation to a land held by a cultivating tenant, such cultivating tenant; (iii) in any other case, the person in actual possession of the land, and includes his heirs, assignees and legal representatives. Explanation I—For the purposes of this clause,- "cultivating tenant" shall have the same meaning as in clause (8) of section 2 of the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963 (1 of 1964); and "personally cultivate" means cultivate either solely by one's own labour or with the help of the members of his family or hired labourers or both, or personally direct or supervise cultivation by such members or hired labourers or both, provided that such members or hired labourers have not agreed to pay or to take any fixed proportion of the produce of the land they cultivate as compensation for being allowed to cultivate it or as remuneration for cultivating it. Explanation II—For the avoidance of doubts it is hereby clarified that the Government shall be deemed to be the landowner, where the land referred to in sub-clause (i) or sub-clause (iii) is land owned by, or, as the case may be, in the actual possession of, the Government; (n) "prescribed wages" means- (i) wages at such rate, not being- less than the minimum rate of wages fixed or revised under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (Central Act 11 of 1948); or more than fifteen per cent in excess of such minimum rate of wages, as may be specified by the Government by notification in the Gazette; or (ii) the agreed rate of wages, whichever is higher. Explanation—For the purposes of this clause, the rate of wages decided by an industrial Relations Committee constituted for any area or the rate of wages agreed at conferences held by the Government or the Labour Department of the Government in respect of any area shall be deemed to be agreed rate of wages for that area during the period covered by such decision; (o) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (p) "Scheme" means the Agricultural Workers' Welfare Fund Scheme framed under sub-section (1) of section 8; (q) "wages" means all remuneration, whether payable in cash or in kind, which would, if the terms of employment, express or implied, were fulfilled, be payable to a person employed in respect of his employment or of work done in such employment, but does not include- (i) the value of- any house accommodation, supply of light, water or medical attendance; or any other amenity or any service excluded by general or special order of the Government; or (ii) any contribution paid by the employer under any scheme framed under any law for the time being in force; (iii) any sum paid to the person employed to defray special expenses entailed on him by the nature of his employment. (1) In this scheme, unless the context otherwise requires,- (a) 'Act' means the Kerala Agricultural Workers' Act, 1974 (18 of 1974); (b) 'Chief Executive' means the Officer appointed as such under sub-section (1) of section 12 of the Kerala Agricultural Workers' Act, 1974; (c) 'Financial year' means the year commencing on the first day of April; (d) 'Form' means a form appended to the scheme; (e) 'Government Security' shall have the meaning assigned to it in the Public Debt Act, 1944 (Central Act 18 of 1944); (f) 'Member' means an Agricultural Worker admitted to the Fund; (g) 'Register' means the register in which the names of members to the Fund are entered; (h) 'Section' means section of the Act; (i) 'State' means the State of Kerala. (2) All other words and expressions used in this scheme but not defined shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Act. In section 9 of the Kerala Agricultural Workers' Act, 1974 (Act 18 of 1974), in sub-section (2), for the words "Two rupees", the words "five rupees" shall be substituted.