In an effort to build consensus on the long-pending Labour Codes, the Mansukh Mandaviya-led Union labour ministry has recently initiated talks with industry bodies and trade unions. '
The government believes that implementing these Codes will enhance the ease of doing business in India, instill confidence in investors, and boost manufacturing and job creation.
Sources indicate that the Codes will also extend social security coverage to wider sections of the workforce, particularly platform and gig workers, who currently lack such benefits.
States like Rajasthan and Karnataka have either passed or introduced legislation to provide coverage to these workers.
The implementation of the Labour Codes, passed during the second term of the NDA government in 2019 and 2020, remains a key part of the government’s agenda.
These Codes aim to modernize and consolidate the country’s numerous labour laws into four streamlined laws.
However, their rollout has faced opposition from trade unions and concerns from employers’ associations and industry.
The four Labour Codes have consolidated 29 central labour laws into the Code on Wages, 2019; the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; the Code on Social Security, 2020; and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.
Last month, Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra chaired a national-level videoconference with all states and union territories to assess their preparedness for the pre-publication of draft rules relating to the four Labour Codes, focusing on capacity building and IT infrastructure requirements.
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