Labour Codes: Will it have proper balance between promoting ease of doing BUSINESS and gaining workers CONFIDENCE?

Labour legislations in our country is the result of long lasting and persistent efforts made by our working community with some guidance and support from philanthropist trade union leaders and international organisations like ‘International labour organization’. The unbearable conditions to work in earlier phase of industrialisation unites working community for the same cause and led to the implementation of numerous labour legislations regulating their terms of employment and condition of services.

Labour legislations specified in the concurrent list mentioned in schedule VII of Indian Constitution regulates more than 40 central labour laws and around 100 state labour laws. According to what Government says, compliance of these labour laws involve complex and rigid process as different legislations has their own definitions and demands different registers to be maintained by the employer for their compliance. The reason to relax such rigid provisions and to make Indian labour legislations more flexible. The Government of India after accepting proposal of 2nd national commission on labour 2002, decided to consolidate 29 central labour legislations in 4 labour codes. The Government highlighted that these codifications promote ease of doing business and attract more foreign investments to the country. The codes extend its applicability to benefit gig workers and workers in unorganised sectors covering under its nexus around 50 crore beneficiaries.

Consolidation of labour laws in 4 codes namely:

• Code on wages.
• Code on occupational safety, health and working conditions.
• Industrial relations code.
• Code on social security.

MAJOR CHANGES:

• National uniform floor wages for working class as notified by the central government.
• Clear definition of wages and allowances.
• Changes in the definition of ‘migrant workers’ as those who are recruited in other state for work and earning less than 18,000 is now to be consider as ‘migrant worker’.
• Migrant workers to get journey allowances from employer, to visit home town once a year.
• Single register to be maintained by the employer for compliance.
• 14 days’ notice is mandatory for strikes and lockouts.
• Recognition of trade union through legislation.
• Provisions of industrial relations code applicable to fixed term employees across board.
• Fixed term employee may also be eligible for gratuity on pro-rata basis.

The retrenchment threshold is now increased to 300 workers meaning the employer can retrench its employee without prior approval from Government if employing less than 300 employees in the establishment. The likewise provisions which might reduce the influence of trade unions opposed by them for modification. Pointing to the new provision in the Industrial relations Code on negotiating union, BMS (Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh) said:

“it is an overt attempt to monopolise single union and eliminate all other unions”. The ensuing National Conference of BMS to be held between October 2 and 4, 2020 will decide the future course of action on the anti-worker provisions in the Labour Codes.

Of all the labour codes, the Code on Wages was the first to get President assent earlier on 8 august 2019. The remaining 3 Codes consolidating 25 central labour laws after a long period of waiting for approval has now been passed from the Lok Sabha on 22nd September 2020 and a day after on 23rd September 2020 during the monsoon session of Parliament been approved by the Rajya Sabha. Explaining the rationale behind this provisions, Labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar said-

“The purpose of labour reforms is to provide a transparent system to suit the changed business environment”. Investors will be encouraged to set up big factories and employ more and more workers. he added.

To rationalise such change the government needs to have proper balance between promoting ease of doing business by relaxing labour legislations and gaining workers confidence by providing them sense of security for their terms of employment and conditions of services. Maintaining such industrial equilibrium needs proper deliberation by all three actors of Industrial Relations i.e Employers and their associations, Worker’s and their organisations and Government. The acceptance by participating of these codes must reduce any further industrial strive and create harmony in regulating effective industrial relations.