Labour Reforms Pick Up Speed with Notification of New Labour Codes

IT WON’T BE wrong to call 2025 a year of mega reforms. The reforms symphony began with big-bang direct tax cuts and the overhaul of the Income Tax Act announced in the Union Budget in February, followed by the introduction of the three-pillar GST 2.0 in September. It has now reached a crescendo with the notification of the labour codes.

To modernise labour regulations, improve workers’ welfare, align the labour ecosystem with the evolving world of work, and create a future-ready workforce, the Centre has rationalised and codified 29 existing labour laws from the pre-Independence and post-Independence years (1930-1950) into four labour codes — The Code on Wages, 2019; The Industrial Relations Code, 2020; The Code on Social Security, 2020; and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 — effective November 21. Key provisions under the new codes include formalisation of employment and ensuring social security, minimum wages, preventive healthcare, and timely wages. Appointment letters have been made mandatory for all workers.