THE ROAD TO ROLLING OUT LABOUR CODES

The code on wages (passed in Parliament in August 2019), the Industrial Relations code, the code on social security, and the code on occupational safety, health and working conditions, all passed on September 22 and 23,2020 in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have yet not been implemented.

The Center claims that the four codes are a major step in the process of labour reforms. The central trade unions (CTUs) have held that three general strikes against the codes will take away whatever little social and economic security is left in the employment sector. The farmer's organization had also supported trade unions in their protests. The Employers association had mixed feeling towards codes.

WHERE DOES IT STAND

The government says the delay in implementation is due to the delay in framing the rules by the states. As labour is a concurrent subject both the states and the centre will have to prepare rules for the codes. The Center has also offered help to states so that the codes can be implemented from July 1, 2022. According to a recent report, 24 states have so far published draft rules for all four odes

WHAT IS THE PROCESS

The states are publishing draft rules and inviting comments from stakeholders on those draft rules.

The centre has also published draft rules for certain sections of the four codes. Trade Unions asking the centre to stop this piecemeal approach and release the complete rules of the four codes.

Since the four labour odes are an amalgamation of 29 central laws and about 100 state laws that are similar to various central laws, drafting, publishing and holding consultations with stakeholders is taking considerable time.

The centre intends to implement the four codes together and implement them in 2022. The labour minister has offered discussions with trade unions and representatives of employers to iron out differences.

The S.P Mukherjee committee, which is working towards the issue of minimum wages, is yet to complete its task. Setting a national minimum wage is important in the implementation of the code on wages. The centre had recently said that the ambit of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) will be expanded to all districts within two years. Social security for unorganized workers is a promise in the code on social security and expansion of the ESIC network is an unavoidable step for this purpose.

CONCERNS OF TRADE UNIONS:

It is opposed by trade unions as they allege that the codes will result in taking away whatever little social and economic security is left in the employment sector.

1)CONCERN OVER PROVISIONS-The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-supported trade union, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), is opposed to the Industrial Relations Code and certain provisions of the Code on Occupational Safety, Health and working conditions.

2) REDUCE COVERAGE-The centre of the Indian Trade Union said the exercise is aimed at pushing out a large section of the workforce out of the coverage of all labour laws by increasing the threshold level of employment in an establishment and repealing a big number of labour laws meant for certain specific sections of employees/workers viz. sales promotion employees, working journalists etc.

3) THERE SHOULD BE MUTUAL DIALOGUE-BMS maintaining that the code should not be implemented in one go; differences must be resolved by mutual dialogue. They are concerned about provisions for the registration and working of central trade unions. They said that government should implement only those sections and codes where there is a larger unanimity among the workers, employers and the government.

4) EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION CONCERNS-employers’ associations like the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) had expressed reservation on the proposal for increasing the minimum wages and expanding the social security network by involving the employers too.

5) OPPOSITION RULED STATE-they are opposing on grounds of poorly drafted code.

WHAT LIES AHEAD

The trade unions are warning about more protests if the codes are implemented.

The Center too is worried about the political fallout of its implementation and thus, this could also be a possible reason for the delay.

The employers are worried that a further increase in salary bills will hamper their profits in a recession-hit economy and they expect the government to hold more discussions.