NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday approved three labour codes merging 29 central labour laws, effecting a major reform that has been on the table for at least 17 years.
The three codes–on social security, industrial relations and occupational safety –cleared by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, will allow industries flexibility in doing business, hiring and firing, make industrial strikes difficult while promoting fixed term employment, reducing influence of trade unions and expanding social security net for informal sector workers.
Along with the Wage Code, passed in August 2019, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has now merged 29 central laws into four codes reducing compliance hassles, and streamlining laws – which have been the demands of industries for decades.
After the assent of the President, India will have four labour codes henceforth.
Some of the existing laws date back to pre-independence. Some of central laws which have merged with these codes are the Factories Act, the Industrial Disputes Act, the Mines Act, the EPF Act, the Employees state insurance Act and Maternity Benefit Act, among others.
“It’s the demand of the changing time and changing requirements. It balances the labour welfare and industry welfare,” labour minister Santosh Gangwar said in the Rajya Sabha during discussion.
The government has attracted criticism that states have been given a free hand to laws in violation of labour rights.
Minister Gangawar said labour issue is in the Concurrent list of the Constitution and therefore states have been given the flexibility to make changes as they wish. Several states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat have announced significant labour law holidays or blanket exemptions to companies to attract investment, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns.
“It’s a free hand to employers. The labour welfare is going to be a story of past. They have no right to strike, the bargaining power has now got diluted, the job and wage protection has no provision in real sense and fixed term employment will be the new order,” said K. R, Shyam Sundar, a labour economist and professor of XLRI Jamshedpur.
The industry, however, views this as a great reform that shall boost investment and improve ease of doing business.
Welcoming the passage of the codes, Lohit Bhatia, president, Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), a federation of staffing and human resource companies said: “Market forces that offer greater employment demand and more opportunities for formal gainful employment with social security and financial inclusion are better suited for workers’ rights than the lack of formal employment with the protection of laws.”
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