Title: The Making of a New Labour Law Regime in India
Published on: November 1, 2021
Authors: Mohan Mani, Babu Mathew, Sony Pellissery and Kavya Bharadkar
Abstract:
The Indian Parliament repealed 29 labour legislations, and created four labour codes (Code on Wages, Industrial Relations Code, Code on Social Security, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code) in September 2020. The present reforms unsettle an entire century of labour jurisprudence dating from before India’s independence, accumulated through tussle between labour and capital, State intervention and judicial pronouncements. We analyse the new labour codes with a focus on social security provisions and labour welfare. While the pronounced goal of these legislations is simplifications of complex labour laws, our analysis shows that rights of labouring class are deliberately weakened to advance neoliberal agenda. This paper is providing historical context to this development, and assessing the likely impact of these legislations for the welfare of working class in India.