Draft Rules for Four Labour Codes Released for Comment

3 January 20261 min read

Why in the news

In January 2026 the Labour Ministry released draft Rules to put the four Labour Codes into operation, seeking public feedback for 45 days.

Covers wages, industrial relations, social security and occupational safety.
Special safeguards for women on night shifts.
Definitions provided for workers, wages, gratuity, bonus and employment categories.

Component	Draft norm
Reference family	Earner, spouse, two children: three adult consumption units
Food	2,700 calories per day per unit
Clothing	66 metres of cloth a year
Housing rent	10% of food and clothing spending
Fuel, electricity, miscellaneous	20%
Contingencies	25%

Replaces 18 older rules, among them the Payment of Wages Rules, 1937 and Equal Remuneration Rules, 1976.
Wages vary by area and skill level; a Technical Committee under the Director-General of Employment advises on skill categories.
A Central Advisory Board is proposed for the floor wage.

Replaces 12 rules, including the ESI Rules, 1950 and Payment of Gratuity Rules, 1972.
A National Social Security Board will have five gig and platform worker members on rotation.
Crèche compulsory with 50 or more workers.

Women’s night work needs written consent, safe transport and CCTV.
Industrial Relations rules cover union registration and a secret ballot for union verification.
Fixed-term employment means a written contract for a fixed duration.

Test yourself

1. Within how many days were comments invited on the draft Rules for the four Labour Codes?

The draft Rules were opened for public comments for 45 days.

2. Draft Code on Wages Rules fix minimum wage assuming how many adult consumption units per reference family?

Earner, spouse and two children are counted as three adult consumption units.

3. Under the draft Social Security Rules, crèches are compulsory in establishments with at least how many workers?

A crèche for children below six is required where 50 or more workers are employed.