ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS :
I. Answer the following questions in one sentence each :
1. What does minimum wage law say ?
Ans: According to law it is illegal or wrong to deny workers their wages. Similarly to ensure that workers are not underpaid or are paid fairly, there is a law on minimum wages . A worker has to be paid not less than the minimum wage by the employer .
2. What safety rules prevailed in India ?
Ans: The safety laws were lax in India. Even, these weak safety laws were not enforced .
3. What is the major role of the government to control the activities of private companies ?
Ans: The major role of the government is to control the activities of private companies by making, enforcing and upholding laws to prevent unfair practices and ensuring social justice .
4. Who wants to make more in business ?
Ans: The contractors, the private companies and business persons want to make as much profit by employing cheap labours .
5. What does law against child labour say ?
Ans: The constitution says that ‘no child below the age of 14 shall be employed to work in a factory or mine or any other hazardous employment’ .
6. Who looks after the safety laws in the country ?
Ans: The government is supposed to ensure about the safety laws implementation .
7. Why were people affected due to Bhopal disaster ?
Ans: Poisonous gas leaked out from the plant affected people due to Bhopal diseases .
8. How can the government control the activities of individuals to ensure social justice ?
Ans: By making laws, enforcing them, upholding them, the government can control the activities of individuals or private companies to ensure social justice .
9. How do the contractors, private companies and business persons make a profit ?
Ans: They deny workers their rights and not pay proper wages. It is wrong to deny workers their wages
10. How was the environment in India treated in 1984 ?
Ans: In 1984, there were very few laws protecting the environment in India, and there was hardly any enforcement of the laws. The environment was treated as a ‘free’ entity and any industry could pollute the air and water .
II. Answer the following questions in three sentences :
1. How can government check whether there is enforcement of Law ?
Ans: To ensure that every worker gets fair wages, the government has to regularly inspect work sites and punish those who violate the law. When workers are poor or powerless, the fear of losing future earnings or facing reprisals often forces them to accept low wages. Employers know this well and use their power to pay workers less than the fair wage. In such cases, it is crucial the laws are enforced .
2. What is the fundamental right guaranteed against exploitation ?
Ans: The right against exploitation says that no one can be forced to work for low wages or under bondage. Similarly, the constitution lays down ‘no child below the age of 14 shall be employed to work in any factory or mines or any other hazardous employment’.
3. How do the foreign companies save costs and earn high profits in India ?
Ans: The foreign companies come to India for cheap labour. Wages that the companies pay to workers, in U.S.A, are far more higher than what they have to pay to workers in poorer countries like India. For lower pay, companies can get longer hour of work. Additional expenses such as housing facilities for workers are also fewer. Thus, companies can save costs and earn higher profits
4. What is the responsibility of government with respect to enforcement of law ?
Ans: As the law maker and enforcer, the government is supposed to ensure that safety laws are implemented. It is also the duty of the government to ensure that the right of life guaranteed under Article 21 of the constitution is not violated .
5. The Bhopal disaster brought the issue of environment to the fore front. Explain
Ans: Several thousands of persons who were not associated with the factory in any way were greatly affected because of the poisonous gases leaked from the plant. This made people realise that the existing laws, though weak, only covered the individual worker and not persons who might be injured due to industrial accidents .
6. Why are laws necessary ?
Ans: Laws are necessary in many situations whether it is market, office or factory so as to protect people from unfair practices. Private companies,contractors,business persons, in order to make higher profits,resort to unfair practices such as paying workers low wages, employing children for work, ignoring the conditions of work, ignoring the damage to the environment .
III. Answer the following questions in four sentences :
1. What were the dangerous means used to cut cost in factories ?
Ans: Lower working conditions including lower safety measures are used.In the UC plant, every safety device was malfunctioning or was in short supply. Even the work crew for the MIC plant was cut in half from 12 to 6 workers. The period of safety training for workers was brought from 6 months to 15 days. The post of night shift worker for the MIC plant was abolished .
2. Why does the government implement laws ?
Ans:
i) Laws must be enforced .
ii) Enforcement of Law becomes necessary or indeed important when the law seeks to protect weak from the strong .
iii) The government has to see that workers get fair wages through regularly inspecting work sites and punish those who violate laws .
3. Why are there sharp differences in safety standards in India and USA ?
Ans: In India one worker can easily replace another. Since there is so much unemployment, there are many workers who are willing to work in unsafe conditions in return for a wage. Employers ignore safety in workplace. Thus, even so many years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, there are regular reports of accidents in construction sites, mines or factories due to the callous attitude of the employers .
4. How was government responsible for the union carbide (UC) incident in Bhopal ?
Ans:
i) Firstly government officials refused to recognise the plant as hazardous and allowed it to come up in a populated locality .
ii) When some municipal officials in Bhopal objected that the installation of an MIC production unit in 1978 was a safety violation, the position of the government was that the state needs the continued investment of the Bhopal plant, which provides jobs .
iii) Government inspectors continued to approve the procedures in the plant, even when repeated incidents of leaks from the plant made it obvious to everybody that things were seriously wrong .
5. How was UC beneficiary of lower safety standards ?
Ans:
i) In 1984, there were very few laws protecting the environment in India, and there was hardly any enforcement of these laws .
ii) The environment was treated as a ‘free’ entity and any industry could pollute the air and water without any restrictions. Whether it was our rivers,air,groundwater, the environment was being polluted and the health of people was disregarded .
iii) Thus, not only was UC a beneficiary of lower safety standards, it did not have to spend any money to clean up the pollution .
6. How were the government pressurized to form new laws on environment ?
Ans: In response to the pressure caused due to Bhopal Gas disaster, from environmental activists, the Indian government introduced new laws on the environment. Henceforth, the polluter was to be held accountable for the damage done to environment. The environment is something that people over generations will share, and it could not be destroyed merely for industrial development. The court also gave a number of judgements upholding the right to a healthy environment as intrinsic to the fundamental right to life .
7. What is the case of Subhash Kumar vs state of Bihar (1991) ?
Ans: In the case of subhash Kumar v/s state of Bihar (1991), the Supreme Court held that the right to life is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the constitution and it includes the right to the enjoyment of pollution-free water and air for full enjoyment of life. The government is responsible for setting up laws and procedures that can check pollution, clean rivers and introduce heavy fines for those who pollute .
8. What is the major role of government ?
Ans: A major role of the government, therefore, is to control the activities of private companies by making, enforcing and upholding laws so as to prevent unfair practices and ensure social justice . This means that the government has to make ‘appropriate laws’ and also has enforced the laws . Laws that are weak and poorly enforced can cause serious harm, as the Bhopal gas tragedy showed .
9. People must demand stronger laws ‘protecting workers’ interests so that the Right to life is achieved for all . Explain ?
Ans: Government has a leading role to play ; people can exert pressure so that both private companies and the government act in the interests of society. Environment is one example where people have pushed a public cause and the courts have upheld the right to healthy environment as intrinsic to the Right to life.Likewise, workers’rights (right to work , right to a fair wage and decent work conditions) is an area where the situation is still very unfair . People must demand stronger laws ‘protecting workers’ interests so that the right to life is achieved for all .
10. What are the unfair practices used by the private companies, contractors and business persons ?
Ans: The unfair practices used by contractors, private companies and business persons are paying workers low wages, employing children below 14 years, ignoring conditions of work, ignoring the damage to the environment and so on .
11. There are differences among safety measures followed in India and USA. Give reason ?
Ans: In India one worker can easily replace another. Since there is so much unemployment, there are many workers who are willing to work in unsafe conditions in return for a wage . Safety measures are ignored in workplaces .