Labor Law reforms refer to the actions taken by the central and state governments of India to regulate and initiate laws for the labor class. These laws ensure that fundamental rights are provided to all workers, focusing especially on equal treatment and decent working conditions. This is essential to facilitate ease in doing business and to create more employment opportunities for the massive workforce in India.
The Indian labor law falls under the ‘Concurrent List’, which means they are created by both central and state governments. Presently there are about 100 State laws and 40 Central ones. Due to the mismanagement of laws and mistreatment in the work sector, labor law reforms had to be made to reinstate equality and improve work conditions.
Over a period of time, the Ministry of Labor and Employment has taken several measures to improve work conditions and in effect, help improve their standards of living. This will increase work output and the overall efficiency of the industrial and business sectors.
There are 4 Labor and Industrial codes passed by the government, namely:
- The Code on Wages
- The Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code
- The Social Security Code
- The Industrial Relations Code
The labor codes claim to be transparent, simplified, and easy to understand for the entire workforce and are being celebrated as a significant step for the labor reform in India. They aim to achieve fair and transparent enforcement of labor laws with accountability and to eliminate any discrimination. This is to emphasize and promote ease of doing business in India.
Why Initiate Labor Reforms?
Many laws that were in place recently can be traced back to the time of the British Raj. These laws had now become extremely outdated and irrelevant to today’s time. Rather than protecting the rights of the labor class, these provisions were becoming more difficult for them.
According to the previous legislation, if a worker had to claim any benefit, they would have to first fill out four forms. Now 29 new labor laws have been combined into the 4 codes mentioned below.
- 4 laws in the Wage Code
- 13 laws in the Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code
- 9 laws in Social Security Code
- 3 in Industrial Relations Code
Who Will Benefit from the 4 Codes?
These laws are applicable to both the organized and unorganized sectors in the workforce. According to these new laws, provident funds, employees’ retirement pension plans, and all types of medical benefits covered under employees’ insurance are now available to the employees.
- The new codes hope to achieve non-discriminatory laws for all and efficiency in enforcement by the use of computer technology.
- The labor codes are applicable to all employees irrespective of their place of work, role, nature of tasks, and salary.
Implementation of labor codes is a commendable step forward. However, it requires a massive shift in management for employers. They would have to assess the impact of the codes first before finalizing internal policies and governance structures.
The government would need to provide clear directions on how they plan to implement the codes and notify the respective organizations of the central and state rules on time.
The ideal implementation of labor codes will take a few years to perfect. As the law evolves, more clarity can be seen in some provisions of the labor codes, and better practices in the industry will start to surface. (See also: Labor Market Mobility in India)
