The Centre has decided to re-notify the draft rules for the four new labour laws and seek feedback from trade unions and others, sources said, the conciliatory gesture coming after 10 workers’ bodies threatened nationwide protests against the implementation of the new labour regime.
On Friday, the labour and employment ministry had notified the Code on Wages, Industrial Relations (IR) Code, Code on Social Security, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, saying they had come into force with immediate effect.
Passed in Parliament in 2019 and 2020, these laws seek to replace 29 existing labour laws. However, the final rules for these laws have never been notified.
Government sources said the legal affairs department had advised the labour ministry to re-notify the draft rules since five years had passed after their notification
in 2020.
“Since many things have changed in this period, it was felt that the stakeholders should get a fresh opportunity to share their concerns and suggestions. The government is open to incorporating new suggestions,” a source said.
The government is expected to give 45 days to all the parties concerned to send their suggestions. Over the subsequent 45 days, the rules are expected to be
finalised.
Most state governments published their own draft rules over the last five years. It will be left to them to decide whether to re-notify their draft rules.
A joint platform of 10 central trade union organisations — including the Congress-affiliated Intuc, CPM-backed Citu and CPI labour arm Aituc — has termed Friday’s notification a “declaration of war against the working class”.
The IR Code governs service conditions, promotion standards and the freedom to strike. However, Clause 96(2) gives the central and state governments blanket power to unconditionally exempt new industries. The code also makes it easier for a wider range of employers to fire workers.
Clause 127 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code allows the governments toexempt industries after imposing conditions that they“think fit”.
The trade unions say the labour codes were enacted without proper consultations with them or discussions within the Indian Labour Conference, a tripartite forum involving workers’ unions, the government and employers.
They have called for protests on Wednesday, alongside the farmer body Samyukt Kisan Morcha, with members wearing black badges to their workplaces. Workers are to hold gate meetings and street-corner meetings from Monday.
The RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh, which is not part of the joint platform, had expressed concern about the IR and Occupational Safety Codes on Friday morning only to welcome the government notification hours later.
Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh has asked whether the labour codes would provide for a national minimum wage of ₹400 a day, universal health coverage of ₹25 lakh, an employment guarantee for urban areas, and comprehensive social security for all unorganised workers, apart from committing to stop the contractualisation of employment in core government functions.
