The Labour codes may be rolled out sooner than we all realized – The majority of the states are ready with their pre-published draft rules
In their April 27, 2022 report the Union Government has said that except for four states and union territories, all states have come on board with the Labour Codes and pre-published draft rules for their implementation. A few northeastern states have yet to sign on but the majority of the states are ready with their pre-published draft rules as also reiterated by the Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav earlier this week in a reply to the Upper House that as many as 24 states/Union Territories have pre-published their draft rules for The Code on Wages, 2019, followed by 20 states for The Industrial Relations Code, 2020, 18 states for The Code on Social Security, 2020, and finally the least number of 13 states for the Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020.
In 2019, the Ministry of Labour and Employment introduced four critical labour bills, combining the 29 major central labour laws into four codes, namely;
1. The Code on Wages, 2019
2. The Industrial Relations Code, 2020
3. The Code on Social Security, 2020
4. The Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020
The Labour codes may be rolled out sooner than we all realized – States having notified their draft rules likely to be implemented by the next fiscal year.
While the Wage Code was approved by parliament in August 2019, the remaining three were passed in September 2020. However, none of them has yet been implemented. Because labour is on the Concurrent List of the Indian Constitution, rules must be framed by both the Union and State Governments in order for the labour codes to be implemented. The Centre had already finalized the rules for these codes in February 2021 and was waiting for the states to notify the rules under the four codes, as required for the enforcement of these laws in their respective jurisdictions. The Centre wanted the states to implement these codes all at once, so it was in constant contact with them to complete the drafting process. It has finally paid off, and India is one step closer to implementing the Codes, with the majority of states having notified their draft rules likely to be implemented by the next fiscal year.
As is the case with the implementation of any new law, the implementation of these codes is also bound to be fraught with difficulties. Ambiguities will emerge as establishments implement labour regulations and authorities respond to the developments. Please contact us at Karma Management Global Consulting Solutions Pvt. Ltd. for questions or to discuss these Labour Codes in greater detail.