PSSSB Labour Inspector key terms

The government authority named by labour statutes as competent to enforce a law for a given establishment, being the State Government for most private industry and the Central Government for specified sectors.

Written rules certified under industrial employment law that govern discipline, working hours, leave and misconduct in establishments above a threshold workforce, replacing arbitrary managerial discretion.

Termination of a worker's service by the employer for reasons other than punishment, retirement or continued ill health, attracting notice, compensation and re-employment preference rules.

A temporary failure or refusal of an employer to give work to a workman whose name is on the rolls, due to shortage of coal, power, raw material, breakdown or accumulation of stock.

Permanent shutting down of an undertaking, which requires prior government permission above a workforce threshold and entitles affected workers to notice and compensation.

The rule that retrenchment should ordinarily remove the most recently hired worker first within a category, subject to agreement or recorded reasons for departure.

Any disagreement between employers and workers, or among workers, connected with employment, non-employment, terms of service or conditions of labour of any person.

A voluntary or statutory process in which a government officer helps disputing parties reach a settlement without deciding the merits of the dispute.

Compulsory settlement of an industrial dispute by a labour court or tribunal, whose award binds the parties and is enforceable like a decree.

The formal decision of a labour court, tribunal or arbitrator on an industrial dispute, binding on the parties and enforceable after publication.

Conduct by an employer or union listed in statute as improper, such as victimising union members or interfering with collective bargaining, which is itself a punishable offence.

Statutorily fixed floor rates of pay below which no employer may engage a worker in a scheduled employment, revised periodically by the appropriate government.

The pay level considered sufficient for a worker's family to meet basic needs plus education, health and some comfort, higher than the minimum wage floor.

A tripartite body of employers, workers and government representatives constituted to recommend wage rates for an industry or region.

A periodic payment added to basic wages to offset erosion of purchasing power caused by inflation, usually linked to a consumer price index.

The principle that men and women must receive equal pay for equal work or work of similar value, without discrimination on grounds of sex.

Paid leave and related protection granted to a woman worker around childbirth, including leave for miscarriage, adoption and commissioning mothers in covered establishments.

A contributory retirement savings scheme for covered establishments, funded by matching employer and employee contributions with government-prescribed interest.

A contributory social insurance scheme providing cash sickness benefit, medical care and dependants' benefits to insured workers in covered establishments.

A lump sum paid by an employer to a worker who has completed the prescribed continuous service, as a reward for long and faithful service.

A statutory annual profit-sharing payment to eligible employees of establishments meeting profitability and wage conditions, calculated on a prescribed formula.

Workers engaged through an intermediary contractor to work for a principal employer, whose regulation covers licensing, welfare amenities and absorption in core work.

The person who has ultimate control over an establishment and bears statutory responsibility for contract workers engaged there, even though they are paid by a contractor.

A worker recruited in one state for work in another, entitled to registration, journey allowance, displacement allowance and equal wages under migrant labour law.

A person engaged in construction, alteration, repair or demolition work at a site, covered by a dedicated welfare cess and registration regime.

A statutory body that collects a cess from construction activity and uses it to fund welfare schemes such as pensions, insurance and housing for registered workers.

The duty of an employer to keep workplaces free from foreseeable hazards through guarding machinery, safe systems of work, protective equipment and training.

Any manufacturing activity listed by statute as posing serious risk to worker health, triggering stricter safety, disclosure and medical examination duties.

A government officer empowered to enter, inspect and examine factories, require records, take samples and initiate prosecution for safety and welfare violations.

Employment of a person below the statutory minimum age, prohibited in all occupations except permitted family or artistic work under regulated conditions.

A worker aged between fourteen and eighteen years, permitted only in non-hazardous work with a fitness certificate and restricted hours.

A voluntary association of workers formed to regulate relations with employers, bargain collectively and protect members' employment interests.

Negotiation between an employer and a recognised union over wages, hours and conditions, producing an agreement that may bind both sides.

A judicial forum constituted under industrial law to decide specified disputes such as dismissal, retrenchment and standing order matters.

A quantitative relationship comparing two or more quantities, used to divide amounts, scale values and solve partnership and mixture problems.

A fraction expressed with denominator one hundred, used to compare increases, decreases and shares of a whole in data interpretation questions.

The sum of a set of values divided by their number, often used to find missing values or compare groups in numerical ability questions.

A reasoning question presenting two or more premises and asking which conclusion necessarily follows, tested through set-based validity rather than real-world truth.

A reasoning item asking for a pair of items related in the same way as a given pair, testing recognition of relationships such as cause, part or category.

A reasoning task where letters or words are transformed by a rule, and the candidate must apply or reverse that rule to find an answer.

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be derived from its individual words, tested in English comprehension and usage questions.

A word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word in a given context, tested in vocabulary questions.

A word with a meaning opposite to another word, tested in vocabulary questions to check precision of word knowledge.

The script used for writing Punjabi, with thirty-five primary letters, read left to right and used in all official Punjabi examination papers.

The traditional Punjabi recitation sequence of the Gurmukhi alphabet, used to learn letter sounds and their order.

Vowel signs attached to Gurmukhi consonants to indicate short and long vowel sounds, essential for correct spelling and reading.

Volatile primary memory that holds programs and data currently in use, losing its contents when power is switched off.

System software that manages hardware, files and processes and provides services on which application programs run.

Application software organising data in rows and columns of cells, used for calculations, charts and simple record keeping.

A constitutionally recognised local self-government institution at village level in Punjab, responsible for local civic functions and welfare schemes.

The longest river flowing through Punjab, entering near Ropar and forming part of the state's irrigation and hydel network.

An administrative unit of Punjab grouping several districts under a Divisional Commissioner, used for revenue and law-and-order coordination.