Aizawl: The Mizoram Assembly has unanimously passed a Bill seeking to regulate the functioning of private placement agencies and to protect the rights of workers.
The bill, which is meant to protect people working within the country and abroad, was introduced in the House by Labour, Employment, Skilled Development and Entrepreneurship (LESDE) minister Lalnghinglova Hmar.
Hmar said The Mizoram Private Placement Agencies (Regulation) Bill, 2025, would replace the existing Act passed in this regard in 2015.
He said people working outside the state require more protection and better working conditions.
“When the 2015 act was legislated, a high majority of people who had gone outside the state through private placement agencies were domestic workers, but we now have even skilled workers being employed in different places in the country and abroad, necessitating legislation of a new act,” he said.
They often face legal issues due to several lapses in the existing laws, he said.
According to Hmar, the new Bill seeks to address the deficiencies in the existing law and broaden the scope to cover not only domestic workers but all categories of workers- unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled.
It also seeks to enhance the regulatory framework to protect the workers’ rights, including provisions for grievances, complaints and increased penalties for violation, he said.
“The new legislation will ensure a more robust, transparent and accountable system for the regulation of private placement agencies operating within Mizoram and for placement abroad, thereby safeguarding the rights and welfare of all categories of workers,” Hmar said.
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He said that it would also mandate registration of placement agencies under both the state and Central legislation, including the Emigration Act, 1983 for international placements.
The labour minister said licenses would be issued to private agencies for five years for job placement after the enactment of the bill.
