Why in news?

• The four new labour codes came into force on November 21, reforming 29 existing labour laws to provide minimum wage guarantees, social security for about 400 million workers, enhanced worker safety, equal wages, and better compliance mechanisms.

New labour codes

• Code on Wages, 2019: Ensures statutory minimum wages and timely payment for all workers, extending wage protections broadly.
• Industrial Relations Code, 2020: Regulates hiring, firing, dispute resolution, and trade unions with faster dispute resolution and enhanced flexibility.
• Code on Social Security, 2020: Expands social security coverage including to gig and platform workers, formalizing benefits such as Provident Fund, Employees’ State Insurance, and insurance schemes.
• Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020: Prescribes national safety standards, workplace health and welfare measures including free annual health check-ups for workers above 40, and regulates working hours.

Need for New Labour Codes

• Outdated labour laws were fragmented, complex, and based on colonial-era frameworks, hindering adaptation to modern economic realities.
• Existing regulations created uncertainty and increased compliance burden for both workers and industries.
• Changing forms of employment (gig, platform, contract, and migrant work) required updated legal protections.
• There was a need to simplify labour governance and expand social security coverage universally.
• The codes aim to empower workers and enterprises for a resilient, competitive, and self-reliant nation.​

Key Changes in Labour Codes

• Consolidation of 29 laws into 4 codes for wages, industrial relations, social security, and occupational safety.
• Fixed-term employees now receive equal benefits and gratuity after 1 year (reduced from 5 years).
• Women allowed to work night shifts with mandatory safety measures and written consent.
• Formal recognition and social security coverage extended to gig, platform, contract, and migrant workers.
• Mandatory appointment letters and statutory minimum wages applicable to all workers.
• Introduction of national floor wage and gender-neutral pay provisions.
• Simplified compliance through single registration, licensing, and returns.
• Enhanced workplace safety, including CCTV, safe transport, and security arrangements.
• Digital and media sector workers included under welfare benefits and mandatory appointment letters.​

Benefits of New Labour Codes

• Workers gain formal employment recognition with benefits like timely wages, social security, gratuity, health coverage, and leave entitlements.
• Enhanced social security net with portability of benefits across states and sectors.
• Equal pay and protections for women, including anti-discrimination measures for transgender persons.
• Improved protections and welfare for fixed-term, contract, gig, and platform workers.
• Employers benefit from streamlined regulatory framework reducing compliance costs and enhancing ease of doing business.
• Strengthened dispute resolution with faster mechanisms and fewer redundant licenses.
• The reforms are pro-worker, pro-women, pro-youth, and promote employment growth, skill development, and industrial flexibility.​

The new labour codes modernize India's labour laws, improve worker protections and benefits, extend social security universally, and simplify regulatory processes for employers, aligned with contemporary work environments and economic demands.​

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