Govt in move to ease labour pains

An article in Financial Express talks about how the government is considering pruning the codes to rationalise the country’s labour laws for ensuring the ease of doing business and welfare for workers; along with inputs from Rituparna Chakraborty.

On course to rationalise the country’s labour laws for ensuring the ease of doing business as also welfare for workers, the government is considering pruning the codes in this regard from four proposed earlier to one, a move that experts feel would help eliminate inspector raj, reduce documentation hassles and improve industrial productivity.

Admitting there has been a directive from “higher-ups” to downsize the number of proposed codes to just one, a senior labour ministry official told FE that the labour and employment department, however, was still working on four codes, but is open to the idea of a single unified code. (Source: PTI)

Immediately after assuming office, the present dispensation took up the long-pending labour reform initiative proposing to amalgamate 44 existing labour Acts into four codes with the aim of simplifying them and ensuring a conducive and harmonious environment for doing business. A couple of codes — on wages and on industrial relations — have been sent for the approval of the Cabinet and the codes on social security and safety and working conditions are being drafted.

Admitting there has been a directive from “higher-ups” to downsize the number of proposed codes to just one, a senior labour ministry official told FE that the labour and employment department, however, was still working on four codes, but is open to the idea of a single unified code.

Under the proposed code on industrial relations, which amalgamates the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the government intends to enhance the severance compensation from 15 days of wages for every completed years of service to 45 days before going for retrenchment, closer and transfer of an undertaking.

It also plans to relax the requirement of government’s permission for retrenchment, lay-offs, closure and transfer by restricting it to units with 300 workers or more, while units with 100 or more workers currently need to take the permit. Under the code, outsiders will be barred from being office bearers of trade unions in the organised sector and strikes can be resorted to only after 14 days’ notice.
“If (the merger of codes) is done, it would essentially mean further rationalisation of the provisions of the labour laws, though the broad contours of the proposed four codes would remain same,” the official said requesting anonymity.