Chapter Twenty-Five -- Notice And Mandatory Hearings: Fill & Download for Free

Its complicated.But maybe i can help if u can endure my mapping the huge context of ur queery.Ur question disguises the fundamentals about a useful answer. 'Older people,' as u say, r [homo sapiens] first just like u. What distinguishes us from all other life is that we r [self aware], which is also the definition of sapient. That is, ur dog, which is not self aware, does not know that he is a dog. Or that u r not a dog. Like other life, he is a stimulus/response engine cued by his environment to action that has usually worked for him already. To him, u r either alpha or his pack partner or from another pack. Seems innocuous but its not. It IS a subtle thing but so is atomic physics. AND its the reason our genus, homo, is subdivided as ‘ sapiens sapiens' instead of ‘erectus.’I think this self awareness begets our unique ability, as best that science can tell, to defy the stimulus/response reflexes of all life. Its the reason our behaviors mapped to a curve is shaped like a bell while all other life looks more like a blunt spike. In humans, where each of us lives on that curve is powerfully affected by what we call [generalized intelligence] or (grammatically wrong) IQ, an acronym for Intelligence Quotient that quantifies relative cognitive strength.American institutions have been applying and improving [IQ testing] in mostly responsible ways since 1919. 100 years. Today we distinguish this from [specialized intelligence], which is vital to comprehending its differences in savants as well as with AI. Its utility is argued only by people who insist on alternate facts, as they say. I dont. Jordan Peterson reckons that modern professionally validated IQ testing is distinctly more effective in predicting ur decision effectiveness than any other psychmetric tool available by a factor of 2+, especially thru near normal score ranges. We shift to more specialized tools for measurement on the tails of the curve.Cognitive scientist James Flynn has made breakthru discoveries in this area and our populations' distribution on the standard [IQ bell curve] reveals some disturbing counter-intuitive realities. They affect how apparent subgroups of our population react to others on many issues, including in politics on Bernie. IQ is the foundation upon which each of us, older and otherwise, interpret reality, or to otherwise figure out whats really going on, so to speak. And it bounds the cognitive limits in each of us, whatever our education, in doing that interpretation.That said, the cognitive exercise we apply to reality, aka, thinking, seems infinitely varietal among people. It is, but over the last 400 years or so we've shaken out two or three distinctive approaches that homo sapiens have invented over at least the last 60,000 years. They r not likely the last approaches we invent before we go extinct.This next section gets weedy. And iffy.As we graduated from mindless stimulus/response reactions to environmental threats, we stumbled into pattern recognition as our first cognitive tool to organize reality sufficiently to survive brutal climate and horrifically dangerous predators and to find essential nutritious prey. But like all life, we r compelled by natures [rule of the jungle] - survival of the fittest.Like other mammals, we learned to collaberate in families to survive and to compete against other families when the going got tough. But unlike most other species we learned to collaberate beyond our families and into tribes of as many as 150 or so non-family neighbors to scale up our comforts in natures bounty beyond mere survival. Usually for epochal projects like warfare or energy construction projects. Today, tech enables us to routinely do it by the thousands. And w the emergence of electronically hosted social media technologies — literally, by the millions.The rule of the jungle is inherently heartless, relentless and timeless. But it also produced us, whose highest enterprise has always been to overrule the jungle - to civilize it; to seek ways to make it less savage, and thereby less tragic. I think, perhaps using an analytical cheat known as projection, we eventually invented and popularized belief systems using pattern recognition, interfamily stories, intertribal legends and tool making imagination that could bring us the serenity of mind necessary to risk abandoning the herd-following of nomadic life and try year round stationary lifestyle.By 10,000 BCE, our mapping of natures practical flora secrets allowed us to develop agriculture and so prosper that we next stumbled into projecting our own agency in subdoing nature into imagining a higher power than men projecting their agency to create us; the alpha gods over us, who created the alpha man over nature, if u like. Daniel Dennett, another renowned cognitive scientist, suggests this may have driven the invention of religion as the first belief system that most efficiently organized and sustained prosperity by enforcing standard community behavior toward the harvest. All u gotta do is make ur tribe believe in an eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, unpredictable and invisible chieftain with a penchant for, simultaneously, parental love and sociopathic vengeance. Easy peazy for self aware primates by simply formally promoting disrespect for testing facts and claims.Ergo, the social emergence of [institutionalized] beliefs that r structured, teachable and enforceable with minimal risk of village disruption caused by dissent or violence. And it creates a whole new power hierarchy for collaboration protected by the previous hierarchy rather than competing with it. Ergo, the birth of [ideology], a cognitive analytical system hostile to facts, logic and testable claims (like partisan politics), as a new toolkit to interpret reality and religion may have been its earliest organized subject. Reality 1.0, u might say.Apparently, we carried on for the next 5,000 years or so with no significant cognitive innovations until ancient Greece and the emergence of something called [philosophy]. Lets call it Realty 1.5. These guys were disrupting the old hierarchy of dictatorial rule and religiously ordered society by digging into its nature using the new thinking rules of [logical argument] and testing of facts. Call that Reality 1.8.By the late 17th c in the West, we'd amassed enuf experience manipulating the elements in new ways to realize that absolute facts govern our environment and by the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th c, began to distinguish the relative utility of these previous thinking methods and confining them to separate realms - we might say ideologies, religious and otherwise, to realms we cant control and critical thinking for realms we can. Their disciplined separation in our bifurcated brains made it possible for Newton to invent Calculus and eureka! Off to the races redefining reality altogether using a new teachable, mathematically predictive and testable analytical system empowering stunningly powerful innovations over our physical world. Voila - the [scientific method]. I call it Reality 3.0.Before the Rennaissance, only the very rich even learned to spell ‘logical’ and do math. And even w our national establishment of mandatory public primary education after the Civil War and secondary in the early 20th c, few kids from the Greatest Generation (in their 90s now) got any serious instruction in logic, critical thinking or advanced math. Why?Because most Americans didn't get the memo showing the insufficiencies of ideology that critical thinking lacks. That r not comparable alternatives but r exclusive systems that r increasingly more destructive when used interchangeably.And because the best our policy makers could divine after the Civil War was that highest and best use of kids brain share is to mold them as laborers or tradesman, neither of which require training in Reality 3.0. In fact, THAT is a life unfriendly to critical thinkers wearing blue collars. But it just loves employees docile, grateful or desperate enuf to master their bench or machine and take their check home quietly every week. Hey, it worked beautifully for decades after WW2. Until it didnt. But THATs another story and not helpful to ur question. Its causes, however, r the foundation for the rediculous condition our society is in now.All of us got thru life validating reality w common sense, religious and political ideologies, minimal formal education and by following rules from on high; first from our families of origin on the trail and later in the harvest, then learned in k-12, thence from our employers at work and government after work . But few explored reality in the Rennaisance academy that our Founders did where they expelled unless they mastered critical thinking, argument and debate (rhetoric). So, if the innovation of an ideological overlay to personal life experience can b seen as Reality 1.x then, in combination w [reason] and [critical thinking], these may b seen as our 2nd cognitive system, Reality 2.0 if u like. It was reason and its formal application to [scientific method] that forever established the industrial age in England w the invention of the steam engine in 1830, well after the American Revolution, and its migration to America by 1850, well after the abolition of chattal slavery in Mother England and well before our second revolution — The Civil War.Most Americans use critical thinking so badly that, as a matter of political correctness (formerly known as politeness), we traditionally avoided critical speaking (and thinking) altogether in religion and politics except in the academy. In particular, few of us recognize that debate and argument r not synonymous. They r literally antithetical approaches to discussion.Debate is an idea sharing speaking protocol intended to select a position winner by organizing competitive rhetoric. That is, for an audience to select the winner, which may have nothing to do with the truth but always to do with popular opinion. Argument, however, is an idea sharing speaking protocol used to discover the truth, such as it can b, by collaborative use of critical thinking tools. That is, to collaberate in finding the truth. They couldnt b more different in objective and style but even todays college grads r little better able to distinguish bullshit from inspiration w them. Anywhere. If only because of all the cheating we resort to. Everywhere.So much for the weeds. Now to ur “old people.”All my life i found old people rather peculiar. They always seemed to have such strange opinions. When i was 15, i remember wondering how my Dad even survived to adulthood on his crazy values. Now I know how he did it and he became my most beloved hero - someone whom i can only hope to emulate. I can even remember where i was when i finally stumbled onto his path.It was during the fracking oil boom of the Bakken Shale in North Dakota in late fall of 2013. It was dusky bitey cold that day on the 2-lane near Tioga and i was driving my doubles oil tanker to my next battery in light snow flurries that were still melting so i was pretty relaxed and reached over to get some XM music. I usually settled on Watercolors 71, but i missed and landed on Sinatra 72. The pavement was getting a little slick as i approached Lake Sacagawea. Too busy there to radio but once I emerged on the other side i noticed Frank Sinatra was sounding way better than ever. And it wasnt the hifi either. My brain was distinctly reacting differently for some reason. I recalled then how mystified i was by my aunts and uncles always carrying on about him in the 60s. And here i am almost weeping at his crooning. Was it because id just entered my 60s? Oh yeah.Gotta do two more weeds bfore i sum up with ur answer.Old people R different. Whether we hide it or not. All of us except the fools among us. And u will too if u survive to old. New science isnt clear yet whether David Sinclairs belief that aging is a disease process aided by broken nutritional and sleeping norms or more like Peter Attia et al, who r testing how the inevitable decline of our bodies regenerative powers r even arrestable. Either way, something related to my aging made Frank singing American Standards sound as sublime to my brain as Ronstadt did twenty five years ago singing Songs of My Father. What was it? Ill leave this science to u but heres my take on the other stuff.Think of ur life in phases or chapters. Each is characterized by ur discoverying new powers, exercising them, testing them and harnessing them to immediate needs and long term dreams. As an infant ur busy eating, gerding, pooping and sleeping. As a toddler, ur busy doing the same but also figuring out ur parent gods and ur own locomotion. As a terrible twodler, ur obsessed w saying no to all the giants near u and discovering how to manipulate them in the world ur parent gods brought u into. (We know from Jordon Petersons work that if boys dont socialize by 4, we unwittingly trash our lives till we age out of it at ~28).As a pre-schooler, ur busy socializing with ur peers and wondering why there r fewer parent gods in the world than real people like u and ur peers. In kindergarten ur learning how to have fun at school while getting a grip, or not, on the passage of time. In primary school, ur busy developing study/testing skills and reconciling bad social behavior to ur family of origin values. Then, holy crap! Middle school is all about puberty. Total insanity so compelling u wonder how anybody survived it until u hear how ur parent gods did. But by high school, uve got u covered and r more busy exploring, testing, resolving and applying new lessons to the world of an independent adult life. Congrats! Uve survived no less than 8 phases of real life and still havent left childhood!Next stop? Legal majority and about 2 years of stupid flailing transition to independent adulthood under ur parents safety umbrella, emotionally if not otherwise. Until ur 20s. Thats when the phases get more important and last longer. Forever, but u dont get that memo. In ur 20s, ur busy experimenting w extreme notions and, depending on ur family of origins wisdom traditions, taking beatings. In ur 30s, ur organizing the lessons learned in ur 20s to optimize performance or perhaps helping to lead others toward performance. In ur 40s, ur applying those lessons to ur dreams during ur most powerful years. In ur 50s ur using ur successes to consolidate ur estate and setting up for retirement. In ur 60s, u begin loosening the reigns u control over others and do more passing of the baton of lifes rules - ur stewardship of our social order - to the next generation at about the same rate u discover ur bodily decline. In ur 70s and beyond, if uve lived ur previous chapters [successfully], u settle down to marveling at ur Creators generosity and how much/little time u have left to enjoy it. Or not.To ur question:Old people have lived a lifetime of scar gathering that most examine too little but that reinforced their acquired beliefs about reality which now enfeebles their own confidence in how others in power over their world can perform. Unlike in Congress and corpoate towers, most of our economy is being run by gen-Xers. For most people of Bernies generation, he appears to b a socially acceptable godless old socialist do-gooder bent on enslaving their national village to social experiments already proven ineffective and unsustainable. He thereby threatens their own quality of life during their declining years.Few r experts in the details of the relevant subjects that rule the jungle and so have to rely on their own experience, ideology and economic security to develop confidence in him or in any politician. But our countrys pols have plainly done a shitty job of preserving the Boomers comfort and peace of mind over the last forty years, so theyre scared he knows little more than them in leading us out of this SNAFU. For them, Bernies not The One.They can only choose the one who speaks in the language of their own reliances. Thats the secret all successful pols know, however they calibrate their constituents. Whenever we try to evaluate reality but lack the cognitive training to use reason without cheating, we tend to backfill our uncertainty w ideology. It causes a lot of friction and stress specially among conservative, benevolent authoritarians. Jordan Peterson has done watershead research in this area and its genesis in personality. So, old people like Republicans or Joe and Amy. The GOP understand this well and patronize us with hypocritical sanctimony while the DNC just patronizes us with wonk&woke. The former is familiar and comfortable while the latter is insulting. Hopeless all.Unless Andrew can reach the Boomers by SC.

These came from all over the place:One hundred+ tips for writers David W. LemkeThese are from everywhere Some I remember from somewhere, some I was told, some I read somewhere and some are just stuff I figured out1, Read, read everything both good and bad. I've read nearly 3000 books I read audio books in the car. I read audio books at work while I work. When I was a rent-a-cop I read between making my rounds.2, Read from the viewpoint of a writer; notice how the writing makes you feel, figure out what and how the author did it, what techniques were used, etc.3,Write. Fill pages. Don't worry about spelling, punctuation, plot problems, incomplete characters, poor word choices or anything else. This is a first draft- put lot of words on lots of pages with gusto. If it's flowing don't interrupt it for any damn thing. The house is on fire? Give me a minute. The police are breaking down the door? Tell them I'm busy. My wine glass is thirsty? OK fine. Why is the wine always gone?4, Write badly. Don't be afraid of writing crap. Babe Ruth struck-out time 1330 and he did it publicly! Your crap need never be seen by anyone but you. Don't be afraid to strike-out.5, Write every day. Define a schedule and stick to it. Don't plan on someday having enough time or on someday having a big chunk of time. Someday never comes. Make time. Write TODAY an hour? twenty minutes? More? great! use whatever is necessary; punch a clock, use a timer, mark it on the calendar, lock the door.6, Listen. Eavesdrop on people. Listen to conversations. Learn how dialog sounds. Don't record it on tape, listen to it in the moment, feel it. We don't talk like we write. Run-ons, incomplete sentences, misses Munns, my English teacher, she'd shit a brick with how we talk.7, Look. Look at something, describe it, how it looks how it makes you feel. 'Awesome' does not do it. try to avoid adjectives especially ones ending in 'ly'.8, Feel. Notice how something makes you feel. describe it without saying "I was mad, sad, happy, sneaky, tired, afraid," etc.9, Smell and taste. Smell stuff, taste stuff, describe the smell, flavor, texture and how you feel about it what it reminds you of. Smell is a strong memory trigger, so use it to trigger emotions in your readers.10,Touch. beyond hearing, seeing, taste and smell, there are over 50 perceptions, many are tied to touch and feel, internal and external. how do you describe those awarenesses?11,Writing files. On your computer create a write file for story ideas, plots, names, titles, dialog character studies, quotes, bits of prose, openings, endings, description, anything to do with writing.12, How about some don'ts? The first Don't. Do create a dump file. Don't delete what you don't like or can't use now. Cut and paste it to your dump, save it to your dump. You'll thank me later when you're trying to remember that line you liked but it didn't quite fit in that old story but in this one it might.13, Don't! When they ask, "Really, What's it about?" Don't tell them! When you’re working on a book, the loneliest of tasks, we feel the need to talk to someone about it, to get some recognition. (We all do this) Friends, family, guy at work or girl in the bar will con you into talking about your book while you’re writing it. Bad choice. Then they give you unsolicited advice like, “You need vampires.” While most of them may be trying to help, though they've never written a book, will give you bad advice. Best thing to do is tell them it's a spiritual suspense, a gothic romance or whatever and end it there. Your better off waiting until it’s finished or having it critiqued by your writers group.14, Don't get too emotionally involved with any part of your work. We fall in love with our writing, the characters, the plot. It happens to all of use. I'll write a Pulitzer first paragraph and continue with the chapter, but it's soon obvious the chapter's gone down an unexpected path and that paragraph just doesn’t work. But that first paragraph is like wow, so I wasted gallons of hours reworking the chapter, instead of cutting the first paragraph. It will hurts like hell but not cutting it is a rookie mistake. If your goal is getting published, you’ll cut what doesn’t fit, even if you loved it. Oh to relieve the pain, cut and paste it to your dump file. Remember number 12, the dump file?15, Don't set unreasonable goals. True, no matter what you're writing, goals are good, be it your novel, nonfiction, poetry or an article. Unreasonable goals will only get you mad or depressed and will de-motivate you, slowing you faster than a flat tire rather than help. Consider time goals. They may work better for you then word-count goals. If you have only half an hour's time to write, sit and write as many words as you can in that half an hour. Some days you may walk away with only a paragraph, while others may fill pages and good ones at that. But if you end the day with something, at least you’ll feel some confidence and sense of achievement, since you stuck it out, focused as hard as you could and gotten some words down. You know that eventually, they'll add up to your novel.16, Don't save your novel only in one place. Have a backup file, a backup drive, in case your computer crashes. Save to a USB drive every once in a while, or you can started writing using Google Docs, where it not only automatically saves your work but it saves it online, so you can access it from any computer you want. After writing the first 32 pages of Spiral Arm Group, a spiritual work, the hard drive died and I lost it all. Now I have an external memory which backs up my computer automatically and I occasionally save to a USB memory.17, Don't take the fun out of writing. Too often writing a book turns into a unpleasant task. That can happen for any number of reasons, writer’s block, stressed out over a deadline, plot or character problems, fear that you novel isn’t good enough, etc. Forget all of those worries and remember your passion, why you were driven to write a book in the first place: You have a story that needs to be told. Remember that every day. Write it up or print it up and tape it above your computer. "I'm a writer, a damn good one and I have a story which must be told!" You’ll have fewer obstacles to finishing your task. Word that any way you want that feels true for you.18, Don't, Don't leave house without it- a way to record your ideas- that is. A piece of dialog, a name, a title, to a scene, or even a character’s distinguishing feature strikes you at the most inopportune time and you know that later you won't remember it. Keep pen and paper, a voice recorder, or your Smartphone, something with you at all times.19, Take advantage of small moments of time. Let’s be realistic. If you work a full-time job with a spouse and kids and have any kind of life, sometimes small moments are all you get, but that's ok because those small bits add up to hundreds of hour, more than enough time to grow a novel,20, If you can’t give it your best, then give it what you can. Some days it's not flowing. If this were typewriter days The garbage can would be full of balled-up typewriter paper. Everything I'm writing is crap and bad crap at that. So why do I even try? Because it’s not all crap. Granted, it may not be Graham Greene or even be Richard Bach, but it might have some value. Anyway every word we write, even if it's crap, gets us closer the good stuff. I doesn't matter if you're walking on a street or clumping through mud, every step takes you farther on your journey. What the hell, now you'll know what not to write next time. Whether it's bad or good, time spent writing is never wasted. Oh yes remember your dump file or maybe a crap file.21, Think like a writer. Be aware. To write well, you must assume Sherlock Holmes' credo, "Notice everything." No matter how big or how small, no matter how mundane or unique, no matter where you are, play the detective game of noticing everything. If you have a camera with you or your cell, take a picture, if you don't or it's inappropriate take one in your head. If you can take notes do so or later in front of your computer, look at that picture and describe it so we can see it.22, Make writing THE priority. Take your writing time seriously. Sit in that writer's chair. And when you're in that chair don't surf, game or answer emails. If you were at work would your boss expect you to do that? Be your own boss A half hour in the chair can net you three hundred words or more. If that’s all the time you have in a day you can still end up with a 78300 word novel at the end of a year. 5 days a week for 30 minutes for 52 weeks equals 78300.23, Things to avoid, Generic beginnings: Stories that opened with the date or the weather didn’t really inspire interest. According to Harmsworth, you are only allowed to start with the weather if you're writing a book about meteorologists. Otherwise, pick something more creative. Actually I disagree if you character is stumbling through that blizzard, sloshing through that downpour or running from that category five twister.24, Slow beginnings: Some manuscripts start with too much pedestrian detail (characters washing dishes, etc) or unnecessary background information. Have something happen, have something matter.25, Thesaurus Rex: Inexperienced writer often use big words or flowery prose in an attempt to sound literary, but misusing those big words will turn your readers off as will awkward sentences and or forced imagery. Use the thesaurus in conjunction with the dictionary to find the right word instead of the biggest word. Hemmingway had it right. "Good" works a lot better than "proficient".26, TMI (Too Much Information): Overly detailed description of bodily functions or medical examinations.27, Clichés: "Deiter's posture were ramrod straight." "The wind was raw." "Jill eyed the tall beautiful blond that peered back at her from the mirror." Clichés often show lazy writing. When you revise, tear them out by the throat.28, Loss of Focus: Some stories don't have a clear narrative and bounce haphazardly from one theme to the next.29, Unrealistic internal narrative: Be sure the character's thoughts and feeling, make sense with the situation. If your hero has been shot you wouldn't expect her to wax eloquently about the experience as she is bleeding out. At the same time, don't have him think on things just so the reader can know about them.30, Morning-routine cliché: Try not to start your story with your main character being "rudely awakened" from a "sound sleep" by a "clanging" alarm clock? Unsure where to start, you pick first thing in the morning. It's ok to do that in your first draft, knowing you'll change in the next.31,In the same vein if you must start in the morning don't have your "sleepy eyed" hero haul herself from bed, squinting into the bright sunlight while having her tell the reader about the room. We've all done that, but trust me you need to replace that clichéd scene with something more original, at least by the third draft. Don't moan and complain. It's been done before so do something different. It's your job, you're a writer.32, Here's a worse one: Our hero is so caught up in hers mad rush to catch her train that she forgot to what, comb her hair, put on pants, (insert one of your choice) to make it to her job interview? So now she checks herself in her compact mirror or in her reflection in window. wow what wonderful opportunity for description. Don't do it.33, How about one for the road? The phone answering cliché" It's happens in nearly every book or movie, but one thing real people don't do is look up with a startled look, glance over to the phone. Hey, you know where it is; (unless there's a teenager in the house) it's been there forever, and you've heard its ring before. So don't have Suzy look up, startled, get up and cross the room, pick up the phone and say, "Hello?" Here's a more modern phone cliché. answering the cell phone that isn't yours, but has appeared in your pocket mysteriously.34, The clutter of detail: Give your readers credit. If Dick phones Jane, they will assume she heard the ring, stood, moved to the phone, picked it up and introduced herself. You'd be astonished at how many stories are cluttered with such details.35, Getting to the point, skip the recital of ordinary life: We all do the "get dressed, walk to the car, open the door, get in, turn the key and back out of the driveway..." thing. If Jane backs over dwarf, that's a story so say it and skip all the dross.36, Don't spell it out: Don't feeling the need to explain what happened more than once. Trust the reader's intelligence. If he was dozing and he missed it, he'll back up to where it made sense.37, Don't preach. Put yourself in the reader shoes. Read your story to yourself and see how feel at the end. Does the piece make its own point? Yes? Then why have you included a lecture? If not, rewrite the piece and cut the lecture.38, Setting the scene: Be visual in your approach. but avoid too much description. Give just enough to prompt your readers to populate their own scenes.39, Coincidences: Real life is full of coincidences. But in fiction, more than one in each novel is too many.40, Start your story when something exciting occurs, when something extraordinary happen, when your protagonist is presented a challenge.41, Save the back-story for later, and be sneaky about it. Feed it in carefully in moderation just when it's needed, and only the essentials. Don’t you dare have your protagonist staring out the window so she can share with your readers through internal dialogue everything they need them to know. This faux pas is called an info dump.42, I know it's a balancing act, but avoid saying too little or too much. Saying too little makes it too sketchy to involve your reader in your characters and story. Saying too much slows it down too much and makes it sound pompous.43, Build conflict. Conflict drives story. If it doesn’t have much, your story goes nowhere. Conflict in layers, or conflict that grows and changes, is better. It keeps your reader interested in the hero and her journey.44, Keep it dynamic. dynamic writing keeps the reader in the action. It moves the story forward in real time. Avoid clichés and generalizations. Instead, use specific details, stronger verbs and better diction.45, Skip boring stuff, no one wants to read it. Use realistic sounding, interesting dialogue that is unique to each character. Avoid adverbs (“You're such a lamb," she said sheepishly.).46, Create characters who are interesting and complex with both good quality's and flaws. Don't make them perfect. Find their motivations and fears.47, Build a strong foundation to help your reader suspend disbelief so that whatever happens feels credible and rings true. Also avoid a plot that is too contrived with more than one coincidence.48, Don't write self-indulgent or overly dramatic. Writing that tries too hard is quickly obvious.49, Trust your reader's intelligence, using plenty of nuance and overtone. Don't make everything obvious. For the astute reader, subtext is a gift, an extra layer of meaning only implied, but not reachable without some thought. Savvy readers interact with the text, partnering with the writer in finding the meaning of the story.50, Give your suspense and action depth and punch by using subtlety and misdirection. Uncertainty creates suspense. Motivation breeds action. When an ominous clue is uncovered, say the making of a bomb and we have no confidence as to where or when, suspense rises and action must follow.51, To create suspense, add sensory detail and slow down time. By focusing on the precise sensory detail, you can strengthen the sense of menace in everyday objects, a kitchen knife, a child's shoe, a timepiece. To raise dramatic tension, craft your character's hyper-awareness and sensation and the feeling of imminent danger. Sustain suspense by continuing to focus on detail, yet having the terrible event not happening.52, Slowing things down increases suspense by using complex sentences, internal dialogue, moving you camera close in and adding quiet and darkness.53, Building suspense takes time, so take the time to build suspense. However, your reader will lose interest if all you do is stack descriptive paragraphs on top of descriptive paragraph, no matter how menacing your descriptions. Give them break by giving them a moment of comic relief or something happening that progresses the plot. The cat jumps from the bushes, the phone rings, sudden hand on her shoulder is her boyfriend.Use this technique of inserting a brief respite or comic relief into a suspenseful scene to give readers a break, then continue to ratchet up the suspense to keep them hooked.54, It is far, far better to foreshadow rather than telegraph. One way to do this is to create a suspenseful scene that ends safely. Later, in a similar appearing situation the results are more serious. The difference between foreshadowing and telegraphing is subtle, so you must judge if you hint is will miss by but remember later with an Aha! That’s foreshadowing. If it's too obvious and the reader catches it, you’ve telegraphed.55, Always end with a payoff. Early on you can create a suspenseful scene that ends with nothing more than a cat jumping out of the bushes. But later climaxes must have teeth and sharp ones at that. This payoff can be a dead body or some other disturbing evidence of a crime committed or soon to be.56, Always be able to take notes, have something with you at all times so you can write that thought, that idea down. If you don't, I guarantee you will forget it One successful inventor even takes something to write on while swimming laps57, I keep my notes in Swiss Miss cans until I get around to inputting them to my writing files.58, How about some lies we can tell ourselves? First, the rules don't apply to me. My first drafts are awesome so I don't need to rewrite. Other people need to do multiple drafts, but my first drafts are perfect. Many channeled books are written and not edited. Yes this keeps them spiritually honest (like the bible?) but nearly unreadable and seldom read.59, Agents and editors have it in for me. They're all jealous my writing skills and surely they're teaming up, conspiring to keep me from being published.60, I'm a writer, not a marketer, That might be why you're not yet published. First do the work of writing a marketable novel and a convincing query letter. Yeah, it might be hard work, but there's nothing easy about getting published.61, Now that I’ve written two scorchingly hot chapters to my novel, I should spend more time fantasizing where I should get published. It is way more fun studying Writer’s Market and Literary Agents than it is working on my book. This may be time well spent when your book is ready, but if it's not and you spend too much time in fantasy publishing land and fantasy now-that-I'm-rich, I-want-to-move-to-land, it’s time shift your attention and effort back to putting words to the page.62, I’m a better writer than most published authors. If you’re like me, you love picking up a book from the “Top 10″ rack, flipping it open and cringing at the terrible prose. But this author (who is, keep in mind, a worse writer than you) somehow got a contract, got published and is selling well. This is said before the first draft is finished. Could it be that the “hack writers” despite their obvious lack of any talent are the ones that actually finish their books. Try this out. Pick one of those published hacks online who is inferior to you and look up what magazines they're in and submit stories to them. You should make lots of money and add to your writing resume, that is assuming you are as good as you say.63, Study the Chicago Style Manual, The Webster's Standard American Style Manual or some other substantial style publication. We really need to know the rules so we can edit our own work. It may cost you from about $2000 to over $4000 to have your novel professionally edited. Don't let this be the roadblock to your success.64, Read lots of books on writing. you don't have to spend lots of money. The library, Half Price Books, Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more used books and used book stores have tons of books on writing I have about 50 books on writing, novel writing dialog, characters, plots, style, genre, writer's markets, dictionaries, thesauruses and maybe more that I bought from Writers Digest and every other source mentioned.65,Fill your personal library with dictionaries, visual encyclopedias and thesauruses. If any characters speak a language, include foreign languages dictionaries and slang dictionaries of all kinds. Also find all of these online including the really useful reverse dictionary66, Be willing to break rules, but not ones that ensure good communications with your readers. Also if your agent or editor says you can't do that, she might be right.67, Yes, read like a rabid bibliophile, take classes and courses galore, but find your balance. Remember writers write.68, When do you write the best or when are you most productive? Early morning, later, in the afternoon or evenings? Whenever possible, set up your day so you have that time free for writing.69, Try? According to the words of Master Yoda, "There is no try. There is only do or do not." Don't try to write, just write.70, There is a learning curve. The more time spent writing, rewriting and studying writing, the better you get. It's like walking around a building. Until you reach the corner, the world looks just one way, but when you reach the corner and step around it to find whole new vista.71, Grow your characters, (heroes villains and those of importance.) learn about them, interview them, find out what they like and dislike what they fear, their dreams and goals their needs and desires. Look into their past. What was their childhood like? what are they proud of? What do they regret? Note how they talk, the words they use, how they think how they move, their hobbies and charities, what they drink, eat, smoke and what they won't.72, Mine yourself. Treat yourself as a character. You have experiences even if your eight years old. write these up even if they are not nice, even if they are boring. What did you do? how did you feel? now change it, shift it, make it bigger, hell, make it huge. Use parts of yourself for parts of your characters, even that evil nemesis.73Tools! You can't build much with just a hammer. Fill your toolbox with writing tools of every kind. Creativity can come out of the blue, but often it comes from those who walked before us. Make it yours. learn how to use the new tools and how to incorporate tem with the rest of your toolbox. My uncle Harvey always said "Money spent on tools is never wasted."74, Don’t try to write like your idols. Be yourself. The one thing you’ve got that no one else does is your own voice, your own style, your own approach. I disagree. L. Ron Hubbard said you don't know what your style is unless you've written a hundred thousand words or so. My suggestion? DO write like your idols. Learning is a learned skill. Find out how they did what they did their cadence, sentence structure, their voice, syntax, use of lists, use of repetition, zooming in and out, slowing down and speeding up. Figure out what you like, what works for you, now make it yours. add your flair.75, Don’t be afraid to give up … on a particular piece. Sometimes, a story just doesn’t work, and you shouldn’t spend years languishing on something you just can’t fix. (After all, you can always come back to it later, right?) Remember your dump file!76, But, don’t ever really give up. Writers write. It’s what we do. It’s what we have to do. Sure, we can all say over a half-empty bottle of wine that we’re going to throw the towel in this time, but let’s be honest: Very few of us ever do. And none of us are ever really all that surprised when we find ourselves back at our computers, tapping away, and waiting for that electric, amazing moment when the pebble of a story shakes loose and begins to skitter down that great hill …77, Don’t forget to get out once in a while. Writing is a reflection of real life. It’s all too easy to sit too long at that desk and forget to live it. Spend time with family even if they're not easy to get along with. Go to the beach, the park, the concert, the store, the corner tavern, the everywhere. Take it in, remember it, write it down. Was that awful? Maybe but now you have that experience.78, Don’t ever write something in an attempt to satisfy a market trend and make a quick buck. By the time such a book is ready to go, the trend will likely have passed. The astronomical amount of romantic teenage vampire novels in desk drawers is more than a nuisance—it’s a wildfire hazard. Write the story that gives you insomnia.79, Don’t ever hate someone for the feedback they give you. No piece of writing is universally beloved. Nearly every reader, editor or agent will have a different opinion of your work, and there’s value in that. Accept what nuggets you believe are valid, recognize the recurring issues you might want/need to address, and toss the edits your gut says to toss. (Unless the changes are mandatory for a deal—in which case you’ll need to do some deeper soul searching.) Be open to criticism—it will make you a better writer.80, But, don’t be susceptible to the barbs of online trolls—you know, those people who post sociopathic comments for the sake of posting sociopathic comments. That’s what trolls do: they troll (on Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter, etc.). It’s not personal. Which means the message at the core of their words means as little as the 0s and 1s used to code it. Ignore them heartily.81, Don’t get too swept up in debates about outlining/not outlining, whether or not you should write what you know, whether or not you should edit as you go along or at the end—again, just experiment and do what works best for you. The freedom that comes with embracing this approach is downright cathartic.82, Don’t assume there is any single path or playbook writers need to follow. (Or, for that matter, a definitive superlative list of Dos and Don’ts …) Simply put: You have to do what works best for you. Listen to the voices in your head, and learn to train and trust them. More often than not, they’ll let you know if you’re on the right path. People often bemoan the surplus of contradictory advice in the writing world—but it’s there because there really is no yellow-brick road, and a diversity of perspectives allows you to cherry-pick what uniquely suits you and your abilities.83, Don’t ever assume it’s easy. Writers with one book on shelves or one story in print often have trouble getting published again. (The exception being those lucky 19-year-old savants you sometimes hear about, or, how about Snooki? Success is never guaranteed, after all, Snooki’s Gorilla Beach: A Novel only sold 3,445 copies.) Success is hard to predict.84, Pay attention to the basics: Good spelling, strong dialog mechanics, sound grammar. They are the foundations of good writing. Check your style manual and keep your dictionaries handy.85, Don’t put all your attention on one piece of work. When one is off to the agent or publisher, be working on your next book or idea. Keeping your creative side in gear while focusing on the business of selling your work prevents bigger stalls in your writing life down the road.86, Don’t be mean about another writer’s success. rejoice in it. When other writers are signing big book deals with money and all the publicity, decide to learn from them instead of envying them. There's enough readers out there for all of us. J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown MADE readers.87, Don’t be deceitful, hostile or nasty when talking to publishing industry people. Word gets around about who’s nasty or nice. Publishing may be a big business, but everybody in it knows everybody.88, Voice The most important cornerstone of good writing may well be the voice, the persona narrator. This may be the narration of the first person, (I saw the whole thing. It was awful.)or have the more god-like qualities of the third person narrator (She saw the whole awful thing.)or the more commanding narration of the second person (You saw it. You thought it was awful.) this is only a tiny fraction of what the voice can be. Beyond that the voice can be matter of fact like a reporter or lyrical or flowery It can be very close from within the characters thoughts and emotions or so far off it feels like a satellite photo. It may zoom in and out or stay very stationary. it may drip with emotion or be cold or hard or distant or unforgiving or non-judgmental, young, old, enthusiastic or gloomy or playful and innocent, or jaded, It may give a very sketchy picture or be very detailed, graphic or even distorted.89, The next twelve concern editing from the book, Self Editing For Fiction Writers: Show and tell On the one hand, consider telling to be like summery of an event without names or description or dialog. On the other hand, showing would involve names and action, the description of things people, the environment, emotions, actions and dialog. Since showing is more alive we are advised to "Show don't tell." Mostly this is true, but often you won't want to waste whole paragraphs on something not very important. (Bob closed the door and locked it then he lifted the seat and un-zipped his fly...)90, Characterization and exposition Sure, we want the reader to see and understand our character, but coming out and telling everything about them in one fell swoop is usually a bad choice. Better to show the character piece by piece. Show him being cruel to someone, have his yelling cruel things, give pieces of what he looks like as needed in conjunction with action or dialog. Have people talk about him ( but have a reason for their talking about him beyond the reader needing to know) and show their fear91, Point of view: Have the point of view be only from one character at a time, usually without changing viewpoints within a chapter. To do so more often must be carefully done so as not to confuse the reader. Bill thought, 'She's really pretty.' As she continued watching him she worried about the pie in the oven. Her husband felt really mad at the attention she was getting, as he loaded the pistol. Is that confusing?92, Proportion: this affects the focus of the story. A romance story might describe the cooking of an omelet in a few words or may be over whelmed by chapters on the details of cooking that same omelet. so much so that you wonder if it's a cookbook. also see 33with the phone and 35 with backing up the car.93, Dialog Mechanics: Avoid the use of anything but said (Bill said, She says) don't be creative here, no he snorted, laughed, sneered, pouted, glared or even asked. Why not? because it draws attention to your writing, not a good thing. Avoid any thing that ends in 'ly' such as, "It's radioactive in here," she said glowingly.94, See how it sounds: Read back your dialog out loud to hear how it sounds. And yes you can learn to write better dialog.95, Interior Monologue is a powerful way to show emotion and what characters are thinking, but it needs to be done well to work. also look at moving smoothly from what a character is seeing to what he is thinking.96, Easy beats: when writing dialog instead of He saids and She saids ad infinitum, ever use beats. Beats are the bits of action interspersed throughout a dialog scene these can accent emotion and increase tension and add to the rhythm97, Breaking up is easy to do: Sometimes long paragraphs of dialog need to be broken up to increase the energy and tension. Longer dialog paragraphs slow the story down.98, Once is usually enough: Be aware when you use a significant word and beware of repeating it or your editing problems may be significant. Also watch for the repletion of an idea and effect or even having multiple characters that are too much alike.99, Sophistication: Avoid using 'as' and 'ing' as they weaken your writing as the move your action one step removed. Also thought they are perfectly legal and legitimate, they come across as less professional.100, Voice Revisited: consider the quality of you writers voice. How powerful is it? how confident? How authoritative? In my award winning story I-35, I began with... Let us start here... I maintained the same attitude in the voice the whole story through.101, Join a writer's group try to get into one where at least some of the members are better, more experienced then you.102, Learn to give clear specific useful criticism. Make sandwiches! Not the kind that you eat, but the kind that doesn't taste to bad. Recipe for a critique: point out something good, point out ONE thing that needs to be fixed, point out another good thing. Picking out everything bad isn't useful. It's too overwhelming. Don't worry, someone else will point out the other problem(s) and if not point that out next meeting when they bring it back.103, In turn, learn to take useful criticism of your work without making excuses, even if it's not in a sandwich.104, Attend conferences. Congratulations! you're here. Listen, attend workshops, meet people take business cards make friends, make connections, learn, share, have fun.105, Get a professional critique At the UWM conference a few years back, I had my novel critiqued by Marcella Landres former She told me it was crap, but that all first drafts are crap. she went on to give me good advice. I am thankful for that good advice. We are friends, we exchange emails etc.106, Part of that advice was learn how to write, take a class or online class. She suggested UCLA and Writer's Studio in New York. I procrastinated and missed the deadline for UCLA but signed up for Writer's Studio where I took three semesters until I ran out of money, but learned a lot. They focus on the voice.

The law relating to labour and employment in India is primarily known under the broad category of "Industrial Law". Industrial law in this country is of recent vintage and has developed in respect to the vastly increased awakening of the workers of their rights, particularly after the advent of Independence. Industrial relations embrace a complex of relationships between the workers, employers and government, basically concerned with the determination of the terms of employment and conditions of labour of the workers. Escalating expectations of the workers, the hopes extended by Welfare State, uncertainties caused by tremendous structural developments in industry, the decline of authority, the waning attraction of the work ethics and political activism in the industrial field, all seem to have played some role.Historical BackgroundThe history of labour legislation in India is naturally interwoven with the history of British colonialism. The industrial/labour legislations enacted by the British were primarily intended to protect the interests of the British employers. Considerations of British political economy were naturally paramount in shaping some of these early laws. The earliest Indian statute to regulate the relationship between employer and his workmen was the Trade Dispute Act, 1929 (Act 7 of 1929). Provisions were made in this Act for restraining the rights of strike and lock out but no machinery was provided to take care of disputes.The original colonial legislation underwent substantial modifications in the post-colonial era because independent India called for a clear partnership between labour and capital. The content of this partnership was unanimously approved in a tripartite conference in December 1947 in which it was agreed that labour would be given a fair wage and fair working conditions and in return capital would receive the fullest co-operation of labour for uninterrupted production and higher productivity as part of the strategy for national economic development and that all concerned would observe a truce period of three years free from strikes and lockouts. Ultimately the Industrial Disputes Act (the Act) brought into force on 01.04.1947 repealing the Trade Disputes Act 1929 has since remained on statute book.Object of the ActThe Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, is, therefore, the matrix, the charter, as it were, to the industrial law. The Act and other analogous State statutes provide the machinery for regulating the rights of the employers and employees for investigation and settlement of industrial disputes in peaceful and harmonious atmosphere by providing scope for collective bargaining by negotiations and mediation and, failing that, by voluntary arbitration or compulsory adjudication by the authorities created under these statutes with the active participation of the trade unions. With the aid of this machinery, industrial law covers a comprehensive canvas of state intervention of social control through law to protect directly the claims of workers to wages, bonus, retiral benefits such as gratuity, provident fund and pension, claims, social security measures such as workmen’s compensation, insurance, maternity benefits, safety welfare and protection of minimum of economic well-being. Job security has been particularly protected by providing industrial adjudication of unfair discharges and dismissals and ensuring reinstatement of illegally discharged or dismissed workmen. Protection has gone still further by laying down conditions of service in specified industries and establishments and limiting the hours of work. By and large, all these subjects are "connected with employment or non-employment or terms of employment or with the conditions of labour" of industrial employees. In other words, these matters are the subject matter of industrial disputes, which can be investigated and settled with the aid of the machinery provided under the Act or analogous State statutes.Mechanism of Disputes SettlementThe principal techniques of dispute settlement provided in the I.D. Act are collective bargaining, mediation and conciliation, investigation, arbitration, adjudication and other purposes.Collective bargainingCollective bargaining is a technique by which disputes of employment are resolved amicably, peacefully and voluntarily by settlement between labour unions and managements. The method of collective bargaining in resolving the Industrial dispute, while maintaining industrial peace has been recognized as the bed rock of the Act. Under the provision of the Act, the settlement arrived at by process of collective bargaining with the employer has been given a statutory recognition under Section 18 of the Act. Under the Act two types of settlement have been recognised:Settlement arrived in the course of conciliation proceeding before the authority. Such settlements not only bind the member of the signatory union but also non-members as well as all the present and future employees of the management.Settlement not arrived in the course of conciliation proceedings but signed independently by the parties to the settlement binds only such members who are signatory or party to the settlement.Section 19 of the Act prescribes the period of operation inter alia of such a settlement and envisage the continuation of the validity of such a settlement unless the same is not replaced by another set of settlement, while Section 29 prescribes the penalty for the breach of such a settlement.Mediation and Conciliation -Under the Act, an effective conciliation machinery has been provided which can take cognizance of the existing as well as apprehended dispute, either on its own or on being approached by either of the parties to the dispute. The Act further makes conciliation compulsory in majority of disputes.InvestigationSection 6 of the Act empowers the government to constitute a court of inquiry, for inquiring into any matter pertaining to an Industrial Dispute. The procedure of the court of inquiry has also been prescribed by Section 11. While the report of the court is not binding on the parties, many time it paves the way for an agreement.ArbitrationVoluntary arbitration is a part of the infrastructure of resolving the Industrial Dispute in the Industrial adjudication. Section 10 of the Act provides for the provision for resolving the Industrial Dispute by way of arbitration, which leads to a final and binding award. However, in India arbitration is not a preferred way of resolving Industrial Disputes.AdjudicationAdjudication means a mandatory settlement of Industrial Disputes by labour courts, Industrial Tribunals or National Tribunals under the Act or by any other corresponding authorities under the analogous state statutes. By and large, the ultimate remedy of unsettled dispute is by way of reference by the appropriate government to the adjudicatory machinery for adjudication. The adjudicatory authority resolves the Industrial Dispute referred to it by passing an award, which is binding on the parties to such reference. There is no provision for appeal against such awards and the same can only be challenged by way of writ under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India before the concerned High Court or before the Supreme Court by way of appeal under special leave under Article 136 of the Constitution of India.However before the provisions of the Act, 1947 may become applicable certain pre-requisite conditions must exist.1. The dispute must relate to an ‘Industry’;2. Section 2(j) of the Industrial Dispute Act gives a comprehensive definition of ‘industry’. The definition of industry in this clause is both exhaustive and inclusive and is quite comprehensive in its scope. It is in two parts, the first part says that ‘it means any business, trade, undertaking, manufacture or calling of employees and then goes on to say that it, includes any calling, services employment, handicraft or industrial occupation or avocation or workmen. Thus one part of the definition defines it from the standpoint of the employer; the other from the standpoint of the employees.This definition has undergone variegated judicial interpretation. In case of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board Vs. A. Rajagappa [(1978) 1 LLJ 349] a 7 judges bench of the Supreme Court has given the widest possible meaning of the term ‘industry’ which virtually covers almost all organized activities under the ambit of the term ‘industry’. After the decision of the Supreme Court in Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board case the question to be asked is not what is an industry, but what is not an industry. Further, even after the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board decision there is much left to be desired with the interpretation of industry and the need for legislative reforms has been accentuated by all concerned. A very sensible and pragmatic definition of the term ‘industry’ has been attempted in the Industrial Relations Bill of 1978. With the dissolution of the Parliament in 1979 the Bill lapsed.The definition has been amended by the Parliament in the Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act, 1982 with new definition of industry in Section 2(j). However the amendment has yet to be brought into force. There is an urgent need for a comprehensive and practical definition of the ‘industry’.3. Under this Act an Industrial Dispute can be raised only by ‘workman’ employed in an ‘industry’. Section 2(s) of the Act defines ‘workman’, which means any person employed including an apprentice, in any industry to do any skilled, unskilled, manual, clerical, supervisory or technical work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be expressed or implied. The definition of workman under the Act also includes any person who has been dismissed, discharged or retrenched in connection with or as a consequence of any dispute. However, it excludes inter alia any person who has been employed mostly in managerial or administrative capacity or in supervisory capacity drawing wages exceeding 1600/- per month or exercises either by the nature of the duty attached to the office or by reason of the powers vested in him, functions mainly of a managerial nature. However, in this regard it is not the nomenclature or designation of the employee but the actual nature of duties performed by him/her that will determine the status of such employees. Furthermore, before an Industrial Dispute can be referred for adjudication, it is necessary that their exists a relationship of employer and employee between the workman and the management.One of the short-comings of the present definition of the workman, as the experience has shown is its over emphasis on the criteria of nature of duties performed by an employee irrespective of the status, position and wage of such an employee in the hierarchy of the management in determining whether such employee will come under the category of workman. For example, in India even the Pilots and Engineers of aircraft have been covered under the definition of workman although in terms of their salary and wages and authority they exercise, by no stretch of imagination, they can be equated with labour and working force of the industry. In some cases, even doctors have been recognized as workman as they perform technical or skilled job. This area of the definition of workman requires an urgent legislative modification. Stressing the need for recasting the definition of workman, the Second National Labour Commission recommended as follows :"Relatively better off section of employees categorized as workmen like Airlines Pilots, etc, do not merely carry out instructions from superior authority but are also required and empowered to take various kinds of on the spot decisions in various situations and particularly in exigencies. Their functions therefore, cannot merely be categorized as those of ordinary workmen. We, therefore, recommend that Government may lay down a list of such highly paid jobs who are presently deemed as workmen category as being outside the purview of the laws relating to workmen and included in the proposed law for the protection of non workmen. Another alternative is that the Government fix a cut off limit of remuneration, which is substantially high enough, in the present context, such as Rs. 25,000/-p.m. beyond which employees will not be treated as ordinary ‘workman’."4. The dispute must be an ‘Industrial Dispute’. Section 2(k) of the Act defines ‘Industrial Dispute’ and only disputes covered under the definition can be referred for conciliation or adjudication under the Act. The definition of ‘Industrial Dispute’ in section 2(k), can be divided into two parts viz :1. Dispute or differencebetween employer and employersBetween Employer and workmanBetween Workman and workman2. Subject matter of dispute.Connected with the employment or non-employmentThe terms of employmentWith the condition of labour.Space does not allow a detailed discussion of all the provisions of the Act, but provisions that deal with job losses must be noted. Under the present law any Industrial Establishment employing more than 100 workers must make an application to the Government seeking permission before resorting to lay-off, retrenchment, or closure of undertaking. Employers resorting to any of the said forms of creating job losses without seeking prior permission as aforesaid act illegally and workers are entitled to receive wages for the period of illegality. However, an Industrial Establishment employing less than 100 workers can retrench its surplus employees in accordance with the provisions provided under Section 25F, 25G & 25H of the Act without seeking the permission of the appropriate government. Under Section 25 F of the Act the retrenchment compensation to be offered to a retrenched workman has to be 15 days salary for every completed year of service and an amount equivalent to one month salary. However, it has been felt that the present retrenchment compensation provided under the Act is wholly inadequate and there is an urgent need for enhancing the compensation to a realistic standard.However, the service of an employee can be terminated by an order of discharge simplicitor without complying with the provisions contained in Section 25 F of the Act if such an employee has been appointed for a fixed period under the contract of fixed term appointment and his/her services is terminated either on the ground of expiry of the fixed period or in stipulation of the provision contained therein.The Reserve Bank of India commissioned a study into the causes of sickness in Indian industry and they reported cryptically, ‘Sickness in India is a profitable business’. This chapter (V-B) in the Act, which has been identified as offering high rigidity in the area of labour redundancy, has been targeted for change under globalisation and liberalisation.A feature of the Act is the stipulation that existing service conditions cannot be unilaterally altered without giving a notice of 21 days to the workers and the trade union. Similarly if an industrial dispute is pending before an authority under the Act, then the previous service conditions in respect of that dispute cannot be altered to the disadvantage of the workers without prior permission of the authority concerned. This has been identified as a form of rigidity that hampers competition in the era of the World Trade Organisation.A permanent worker can be removed from service only for proven misconduct or for habitual absence or due to ill health or on attaining retirement age. In other words the doctrine of ‘hire and fire’ is not approved within the existing legal framework. In cases of misconduct the worker is entitled to the protection of Standing Orders to be framed by a certifying officer of the labour department after hearing management and labour, through the trade union. Employers must follow principles of ‘natural justice’, which again is an area that is governed by judge-made law. An order of dismissal can be challenged in the labour court and if it is found to be flawed, the court has the power to order reinstatement with continuity of service, back wages, and consequential benefits. This again is identified as an area where greater flexibility is considered desirable for being competitive.Strikes and lockoutsWorkers have the right to strike, even without notice unless it involves a public utility service; employers have the right to declare lockout, subject to the same conditions as a strike. The parties may sort out their differences either bilaterally, or through a conciliation officer who can facilitate but not compel a settlement, which is legally binding on the parties, even when a strike or a lockout is in progress. But if these methods do not resolve a dispute, the government may refer the dispute to compulsory adjudication and ban the strike or lockout. However in recent times the Higher Courts have deprecated the tendency to go on strike quite frequently. Furthermore, the Supreme Court of India has also held that government employees have no fundamental right to go on strike.The Regulation of Contract LabourThe most distinct visible change in the time of globalisation and privatization is the increased tendency for outsourcing, offloading or subcontracting. The rationale is that the establishment could focus on more productivity in the core or predominant activity so as to remain competitive while outsourcing the incidental or ancilliary activities.The Contract Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1970 provides a mechanism for regulating engaging of contractor and contract labour. The Act provides for registration of contractors (if more than twenty workers are engaged) and for the appointment of a Tripartite Advisory Board that investigates particular forms of contract labour, which if found to be engaged in areas requiring perennial work connected with the production process, then the Board could recommend its abolition under Section 10 of the Act. A tricky legal question has arisen as to whether the contract workers should be automatically absorbed or not, after the contract labour system is abolished. Recently a Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court has held that there need not be such automatic absorption.Employment Injury, Health, And Maternity BenefitThe Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923 is one of the earliest pieces of labour legislation. It covers all cases of ‘accident arising out of and in the course of employment’ and the rate of compensation to be paid in a lump sum, is determined by a schedule proportionate to the extent of injury and the loss of earning capacity. The younger the worker and the higher the wage, the greater is the compensation subject to a limit. The injured person, or in case of death the dependent, can claim the compensation. This law applies to the unorganised sectors and to those in the organised sectors who are not covered by the Employees State Insurance Scheme, which is conceptually considered to be superior to the Workmen’s Compensation Act.The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 provides a scheme under which the employer and the employee must contribute a certain percentage of the monthly wage to the Insurance Corporation that runs dispensaries and hospitals in working class localities. It facilitates both outpatient and in-patient care and freely dispenses medicines and covers hospitalization needs and costs. Leave certificates for health reasons are forwarded to the employer who is obliged to honour them. Employment injury, including occupational disease is compensated according to a schedule of rates proportionate to the extent of injury and loss of earning capacity. Payment, unlike in the Workmen’s Compensation Act, is monthly. Despite the existence of tripartite bodies to supervise the running of the scheme, the entire project has fallen into disrepute due to corruption and inefficiency. Workers in need of genuine medical attention rarely approach this facility though they use it quite liberally to obtain medical leave. There are interesting cases where workers have gone to court seeking exemption from the scheme in order to avail of better facilities available through collective bargaining.The Maternity Benefit Act is applicable to notified establishments. Its coverage can therefore extend to the unorganised sector also, though in practice it is rare. A woman employee is entitled to 90 days of paid leave on delivery or on miscarriage. Similar benefits, including hospitalisation facilities are available under the law described in the paragraph above.Retirement BenefitThere are two types of retirement benefits generally available to workers. One is under the Payment of Gratuity Act,1972 and the other is under the Employees Provident Fund Act. In the first case a worker who has put in not less than five years of work is entitled to a lump sum payment equal to 15 days’ wages for every completed year of service. Every month the employer is expected to contribute the required money into a separate fund to enable this payment on retirement or termination of employment. In the latter scheme both the employee and the employer make an equal contribution into a national fund. The current rate of contribution is 12 percent of the wage including a small percentage towards family pension. This contribution also attracts an interest, currently 9.5 percent per annum, and the accumulated amount is paid on retirement to the employee along with the interest that has accrued. The employee is allowed to draw many types of loan from the fund such as for house construction, marriage of children, and education etc. This is also a benefit, which is steadily being extended to sections of the unorganised sector, especially where the employer is clearly identifiable.Indian labour laws divide industry into two broad categories:1. FactoryFactories are regulated by the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948 (the saidAct). All industrial establishments employing 10 or more persons and carrying manufacturing activities with the aid of power come within the definition of Factory. The said Act makes provisions for the health, safety, welfare, working hours and leave of workers in factories. The said Act is enforced by the State Government through their ‘Factory’ inspectorates. The said Act empowers the State Governments to frame rules, so that the local conditions prevailing in the State are appropriately reflected in the enforcement. The said Act puts special emphasis on welfare, health and safety of workers. The said Act is instrumental in strengthening the provisions relating to safety and health at work, providing for statutory health surveys, requiring appointment of safety officers, establishment of canteen, crèches, and welfare committees etc. in large factories.The said Act also provides specific safe guards against use and handling of hazardous substance by occupiers of factories and laying down of emergency standards and measures.2. Shops and Commercial Establishments‘Shops and Commercial Establishments’ are regulated by Shops and Commercial Establishments Act which are state statutes and respective states have their respective Shops and Commercial Acts which generally provide for opening and closing hour, leave, weekly off, time and mode of payment of wages, issuance of appointment letter etc.Statutory Regulation of Condition of Service in Certain EstablishmentsThere is statutory provision for regulating and codifying conditions of service for an industrial establishment employing more than 100 workmen under the provisions of Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 (this Act). Under the provisions of this Act every employer of an Industrial Establishment employing 100 or more workmen is required to define with sufficient precision the condition of employment and required to get it certified by the certifying authorities provided under Section 3 of this Act. Such certified conditions of service will prevail over the terms of contract of employment. In a significant judgment recently the Delhi High Court has held that a hospital even though employing more than 100 workmen is not covered under the provisions of this Act, as a hospital is not an Industrial Establishment as defined under this Act.Distinctive Feature of Indian Labour and Employment LawsA distinguishing feature of Indian Labour and Employment Laws are that in India there are three main categories of employees: government employees, employees in government controlled corporate bodies known as Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and private sector employees.The rules and regulations governing the employment of government employees stem from the Constitution of India. Accordingly, government employees enjoy protection of tenure, statutory service contentions and automatic annually salary increases.Public sector employees are governed by their own service regulations, which either have statutory force, in the case of statutory corporations, or are based on statutory orders.In the private sector, employees can be classified into two broad categories namely management staff and workman. Managerial, administrative or supervisory employees drawing a salary of Rs.1600/- or more per month are considered management staff and there is no statutory provisions relating to their employment and accordingly in case of managerial and supervisory staff/employee the conditions of employment are governed by respective contracts of employment and their services can be discharged in terms of their contract of employment. Workmen category are covered under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act as already detailed above.Voluntary Retirement Scheme and Golden HandshakeIn the competitive time of globalization and liberalization the system of Voluntary retirement with golden handshake is widely prevalent both in public and private sectors in order to reduce the surplus manpower which for most of public sector undertakings is a major cause of losses.The Unorganised SectorMany of the labour and employment laws apply to the unorganised sector also. The unorganized sector can be defined as that part of the work force that have not been able to organize itself in pursuit of a common objective because of certain constraints such as casual nature of employment, ignorance or illiteracy, superior strength of the employer singly or in combination etc. viz. construction workers, labour employed in cottage industry, handloom/powerloom workers, sweepers and scavengers, beedi and cigar workers etc. Under this category are laws like the Building and Construction Workers Act 1996, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976, The Interstate Migrant Workers Act 1979, The Dock Workers Act 1986, The Plantation Labour Act 1951, The Transport Workers Act, The Beedi and Cigar Workers Act 1966, The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986, and The Mine Act 1952.Women Labour and the LawWomen constitute a significant part of the workforce in India but they lag behind men in terms of work participation and quality of employment. According to Government sources, out of 407 million total workforce, 90 million are women workers, largely employed (about 87 percent) in the agricultural sector as labourers and cultivators. In urban areas, the employment of women in the organised sector in March 2000 constituted 17.6 percent of the total organised sector.In addition to the Maternity Benefit Act, almost all the major central labour laws are applicable to women workers. The Equal Remuneration Act was passed in 1976, providing for the payment of equal remuneration to men and women workers for same or similar nature of work. Under this law, no discrimination is permissible in recruitment and service conditions except where employment of women is prohibited or restricted by the law. The situation regarding enforcement of the provisions of this law is regularly monitored by the Central Ministry of Labour and the Central Advisory Committee. In respect of occupational hazards concerning the safety of women at workplaces, in 1997 the Supreme Court of India in the case of Vishakha Vs. State of Rajasthan [(1997) 6 SCC 241] held that sexual harassment of working women amounts to violation of rights of gender equality. As a logical consequence it also amounts to violation of the right to practice any profession, occupation, and trade. The judgment also laid down the definition of sexual harassment, the preventive steps, the complaint mechanism, and the need for creating awareness of the rights of women workers. Implementation of these guidelines has already begun by employers by amending the rules under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946.Focus on Elimination of Child LabourElimination of child labour continued to be one of the major focus areas of the Labour Ministry. It took an initiative for framing an omnibus legislation prescribing 14 years as the minimum age for employment and work in all occupations except agricultural activity in family and small holdings producing for own consumption. The proposed legislation would also fix a minimum age of not less than 18 years to any type of employment and work which by its nature or circumstances is likely to jeopardize the health, safety or morals of young persons. As of date, employment of children has been prohibited in 13 occupation and 51 processes in the country bringing the total to 64. It is proposed to raise their number to 73 by notifying additional nine hazardous occupations and processes.In 2006, the Central Government has amended the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 prohibiting employment of children below 14 years of age even in non-hazardous industry like restaurants, motels and also as domestic servants.To further augment resources for elimination of child labour, the Ministry of Labour signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the ILO extending International Programme on Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) in India for another two years. India under the ILO’s IPEC programme has taken up 154 action programmes on child labour covering more than ninety thousand children with direct funding by the ILO/Area Office to the NGOs.The Reforms and Labour LawReforms in Labour laws is being much talked in recent years. It is being advocated that all talk of liberalization is futile without squarely facing up to the imperative of labour reforms. These are an integral part of the economic reforms process itself. Other efforts at raising the standard of performance on the economic front to world class are apt to stall if those managing enterprises find themselves hamstrung by outdated trade union laws and dilatory methods of adjudication of industrial disputes.For instance, the unwieldy number of adjudicating authorities — conciliation officers, conciliation boards, courts of inquiry, labour courts, industrial tribunals and the national industrial tribunal — under the Industrial Disputes Act and the complex procedures are out of sync with the essential pre-requisites for the success and even the survival of companies in a globally integrated economy.Productivity, customer service, cost-effectiveness, keeping to delivery schedules, technological up-gradation and modernization have emerged as the criteria for judging the quality of management of companies, and labour reforms hold the key to increased competitiveness and investment flows in all these respects. The need for introducing labour market flexibility and simplifying labour laws has no doubt been emphasized by the President and Prime Minister of the country downwards from time to time.The case for labour reforms could not have been argued better than in this extract from the Economic Survey of 2005-06: "... Indian Labour Laws are highly protective of labour, and labour markets are relatively inflexible. These laws apply only to the organised sector. Consequently, these laws have restricted labour mobility, have led to capital-intensive methods in the organised sector and adversely affected the sector's long-run demand for labour".