On Tuesday, India’s lower house of parliament approved long-pending, disputed labor reforms in the heat of a boycott by opposition parties and protests from trade unions.
The three new labor codes will replace decades-old laws and simplify labor regulations. The three bills include the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, the Industrial Relations Code and the Code on Social Security. These bills are all part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious moves to liberalize conditions for investment in the country.
The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code will consolidate and amend the laws regulating the occupational safety, health and working conditions of persons employed in an establishment.
The Industrial Relations Code seeks to consolidate and amend the laws relating to trade unions and conditions of employment in industrial establishments. This Code will also allow for investigation and settlement of industrial disputes.
The Code on Social Security will amend and consolidate laws relating to social security with the goal to extend social security to all employees and workers either in the organized sector or the unorganized sector.
These labor codes are set to become law after approval by the upper house of the parliament and the President’s consent which is to happen later this week.
Considering India’s working conditions are similar to conditions of third-world countries, this new set of reforms will drastically help workers by providing adequate wages and safety measures, ensuring appropriate working hours and health facilities. The passing of the new reforms also shows India’s continued dedication to improving working conditions which includes other improvements the government has already taken over the last six years like the increasing of maternity leave to 26 weeks, allowing women to work in mines sector and pension scheme for small traders.
Unfortunately, however, when looking at the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, one can recognize it does not have specific provisions to safeguard the interests of the unorganized sector. Also, there is no exclusive chapter on interstate migrant workers. Because of this, it makes the bill discriminatory, and this poses another problem in the future for India’s workers.