Why in the news
States and UTs are aligning labour rules with the new codes to attract investment.
Key facts
- Four codes replaced 29 central laws; labour is on the Concurrent List, so the Centre and States both frame rules.
- India has over 44 central and more than 100 state labour laws.
- Goals: simpler compliance, welfare and safety, formalisation, protection of gig workers.
| Code | Focus |
|---|
| Wages, 2019 | Minimum wages, bonus, equal pay |
| Industrial Relations, 2020 | Unions, hiring and firing, disputes |
| Social Security, 2020 | EPF, ESI, gratuity, maternity, pensions, gig workers |
| OSH and Working Conditions, 2020 | Safety, hours, health, leave |
| State/UT change | Number |
|---|
| Retrenchment threshold 100 to 300 | 20 |
| Factories threshold 10 to 20 / 20 to 40 | 19 |
| Contract Labour threshold 20 to 50 | 19 |
| Women’s night shifts with safety conditions | 31 |
| Compliance notice before prosecution | All |
Constitutional provisions
- Articles 14, 19(1)(c), 21: equality, unions, life and liberty; 23 bans begar; 24 bars hazardous work for children under 14.
- DPSP: 39(a), 39A legal aid, 41, 42 humane conditions, 43 living wage, 43A workers’ participation in management.
- Second Labour Commission (2002) urged five groups: industrial relations, wages, social security, safety, welfare and working conditions.
Exam angle
- Four codes, 29 laws; Article 43A and Article 23.