NEW LABOUR CODES: A CRITICAL STUDY
By: Vivek Yadav
BA LLB 4th Year,
Maharishi Law School under Maharishi University of Information Technology, Noida
Ø Introduction
A recent study from the Institute of Employment
Studies in Canada found that the average Canadian worker faces an average of
3.25 hours of unpaid overtime each week. This is an extreme problem in Canada
because, as an industrialized country, we have set a strong reputation for
being a nation of worker rights. A typical labor code in Canada has strict
regulations to ensure full payment for all unpaid overtime. So, the question
remains why are Canadians being forced to work unpaid overtime? The answer is
that as a collective our labor markets are set up to force workers to be paid
overtime if they work past 8 an hour. This is a serious issue because it denies
workers any kind of social security for working the past 8 hours and there is
no way for them to even argue in regards to receiving some money for unpaid
overtime.
This issue is a huge problem in Canada because most of
the people in our labor markets rely heavily on overtime. The problem is that
it denies workers the right to have compensation for unpaid overtime. For many
Canadian workers, this is a serious issue, as they are unable to gain the
proper education they need or maintain a stable household and this ultimately
makes them suffer from stress, anxiety, and depression. They are unable to get
ahead in life and some are even forced to leave the workforce or even commit
suicide because there is zero social security in regards to unpaid overtime.
In this paper I am going to cover Article 246 of
the Indian Constitution, Schedule VII of The Indian Constitution, 3 Codes, Conclusion
and several other relevant fields.
The Labour codes for 2018 have just been issued by the
Government, and this has come with an introduction of new rights for employees.
Employers must implement some of the new rights, and the new rights are
outlined below;
1. The Right to request to change their working role.
2. The new right to request a flexible working
arrangement
3. The right to request flexible hours
It’s essential to understand how these new rights
affect your business. To find out more about how these changes will affect your
business please see the link below:
New Labour Codes 2018 Critical Study
It has become clear that many businesses do not
understand what it implies to have flexible hours, and the introduction of new
rights could have several implications that could help employers prepare for
the changes. If your operation requires employees to be available throughout
the week, it may not be desirable to implement changes that may lead to fewer
hours. But if you want to start offering your current clients more options in
terms of flexible work plans, you might like to make changes to your current
offer. However, you need to take great caution that you do not lose important
relationships and clients that are depending on your products and service.
As it is now not recommended to run a business that is
not profitable, some flexibility changes may allow you to create more efficient
and effective working hours while still retaining your clients.
New Labour codices came about as a result of the
economic crisis in the UK and the United States. With the growing financial
crisis looming on the horizon, New Labour introduced several changes to the way
companies could organize themselves to prepare for a ‘normalization’ of capitalism.
The Codices were intended to make sure that businesses were more flexible and
ready to make and process profits, to avoid the threat of a recession in the
first place.
The way they are carried out is per the way capitalism
is designed, and how it operates in a ‘normal’ economy. Essentially, they
allowed the company to have its employees be trained for a certain role,
whether that is in a shop or an office. This is what led to the idea of a ‘job
shop’. The codices also focused on the importance of the way workers were
treated at the workplace, as well as what each role was expected to do. These
codices and changes helped the UK economy prepare for that of a modern-day
economy, which eventually became a reality.
The legislature and state legislatures can adopt
legislation on any subject matter listed in Lists of Schedule VII of the
Constitution of India (Article 246 of the Constitution of India). Schedule VII
comprises three lists, namely, the Union List, the State List, and the
Concurrent List. According to the data from the central government, there are
currently 40 central statutes and 100 state statutes governing various labor
laws in India. So, to ease trade and increase commerce and trade in the nation,
efforts had been made to simplify and codify all the laws into one uniform
code. In 2002, the Second National Commission on Labour recommended
consolidating 29 labor laws, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment
introduced 4 bills in the Lok Sabha on its recommendation. The Codes address
Wages, Industrial Relations, Social Security, Occupational Safety, Health, and
Working Conditions. Only the Code on Wages for 2019 was passed, while others
were referred to a standing committee for further consideration. On September
19, 2020, the Standing Committee submitted its report, which transformed all
three bills into new ones, and on September 22, 2020, Lok Sabha passed all
three new labor bills: The Industrial Relations Code Bill 2020; Code on Social
Security Bill 2020; and Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions
Code Bill 2020. On September 23, 2020, all three bills were passed by Rajya
Sabha; on September 28, 2020, President approved them; and on September 29,
2020, it was released in e-gazette and became enactments.
Ø Why do we need all 3 codes?
The codes were created to codify and simplify various
labor legislations that were creating a complex environment for employers as
well as workers, and to protect employers' and workers' rights by allowing
simplified labor reforms to facilitate trade and business. They were also
created to help to resolve industrial disputes and to restore industrial peace
and harmony, as well as ensure social security for all kinds of workers who
were excluded by the previous labor laws. These codes also establish streamlined
procedures and data collection, such as single registrations, licenses, and
consolidation returns, which reduce the burden of employers. Several boards and
committees have been established to supervise the safety and welfare of workers
under the codes. For strict observance of the code, strict punishments have
been imposed with a comparatively large monetary amount and prison term.
Ø Industrial Relation Code, 2020
The 2020 Industrial Relations Code results from the
amalgamation and repeal of three central legislative acts to simplify
compliance and improve ease of doing business, namely: the Industrial
Employment (Standing Orders) Act of 1946; and the Industrial Disputes Acts of
1947.
Ø Code on Social Security, 2020
The Code on Social Security was created to provide
social security to all employees, whether in the organized, unorganized, or any
other sector, by simplifying and consolidating different labor laws, such as
the Employees’ Compensation Act of 1923, the Employees’ State Insurance Act of
1948, the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act of 1952,
the Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies Act of 1959, the
Maternity Benefit Act of 1961, the Payment of Gratuity
Ø Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working
Conditions, 2020
The Code combines 633 provisions of 13 major labor
laws into one code containing 143 provisions to ensure health and safety to
workers in various industries, trades, and businesses. It focuses on worker
safety in hazardous work. The factories, plantations, dock workers, and
construction workers are covered by different licensing, safety, and obligation
provisions in the laws below. The Factories Act, 1948; The Plantations Labour
Act, 1951; The Mines Act, 1952; The Working Journalist, and other News Paper
Employees, (Conditions of Service, and Miscellaneous Provisions, 1955; The
Motor Transport Workers, 1961; The Beedi, and Cigar Workers, (Conditions of
Service, 1966; and the Sales Promotion Employees.
Ø Wage Code Concerns
There have been many concerns about the new Wages
Code, some of which are reported below: The administrations would enjoy a great
deal of discretionary power if minimum wages were to be established based on
geography, skill, and difficulty of the work, etc. since many of these factors
are difficult to measure. The clause for the deduction of wages seems
arbitrary, and fear of a deduction of wages could hinder workers from
organizing. The principal employer is defined broadly in the Code, making it
difficult to pinpoint the responsibility for paying wages. In India, the
majority of workers are contract laborers, so this is a serious problem. In
addition, the Code absolves courts of any authority to provide justice for
workers who have been subjected to violations of their wages. This means that
workers cannot go to the courts to challenge their employers' wages anymore,
but can only go to the quasi-judicial body and appeals authority established
under the Wage Code.
Ø
Government
Moves
Through numerous legislative and policy measures, the
government of the Centre and some states have recently suggested an anti-labor
law sentiment. The Economic Survey of India for the Fiscal Year 2019-20
suggested that stringent labor laws were the cause of the modest
entrepreneurial index. It reaffirmed its belief that the repeal of state
regulations could be on the horizon to boost employment statistics. The laws
that are being tried to be repealed have been targeted at all times in the
past, as have parliamentary attempts at their elimination. Contract labor,
minimum wages, migration to an interstate level, and gratuity payment, which
are all covered in the Uttar Pradesh Temporary Exemption from Certain Labour
Laws Ordinance, 2020, had previously been part of the Code on Wages 2019 and
the Occupational Health, Safety, and Working Conditions Code of 2019. The
concerns are not unfounded. The criticisms of these statutes say that the new
codes appear to be instruments of protecting employers’ interests while
jeopardizing the rights of the workers. Critical elements, e.g., minimum wage,
have been left out, and governments have been granted the freedom to set their
methods of action to designate clauses. Since 2004, the owners have been
shielded from both criminal and monetary liability for workplace injuries or
deaths, disincentives such as disciplinary proceedings have been eliminated,
administration systems have been eliminated, and proprietors have been provided
with a self-certification scheme to show compliance with regulations. Quite a
few state governments have embraced their concurrent powers and amended the
existing labor laws. The Rajasthan government has been ahead of every other
state in this regard. The Rajasthan government of the time expanded the reach
of the Factories Act, 1948, and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition)
Act, 1970 in 2014, which resulted in multitudes of workers being excluded from
the protections offered them by these laws.
Ø Conclusion
Because of the complexities faced by various
institutions due to the bulk of various laws passed over the years, which have
led to a multiplicity of definitions, overlap of authority, and different
compliances, the 3 labor codes were urgently required and long awaited.
Codification and consolidation of such laws have removed these limitations and
allowed for greater scope and applicability of the laws, ease of compliance,
and so on. The government has now also introduced measures to protect workers
in non-organized sectors, such as the "Home-based worker",
"Self-employed worker", "gig worker," and "platform
workers," which were previously excluded from previous labor law.
India has formally supported six of the ILO’s eight
core conventions, including the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), Equal
Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. Abolition of Forced Labour Convention of
1957 (No. 105), Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention of 1958
(No. The Convention on Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999 (No. 111), Minimum Age
Convention, 1973 (No. 138), and Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999
(No. 138) are all in force.
Ø Other Sources
· 1. The
three Labour Code Bills 2020 : a critical study - iPleaders
2. A Critical Analysis the three Labour Bills, 2020 (latestlaws.com)
3. Labour Code Impact – A Brief Analysis - Employment and HR - India (mondaq.com)
5. Highlights Of The New Labour Codes - BCP Associates LLP
6. Labour Codes | Ministry of Labour & Employment
·
Ø Case Laws
· 1. People’s Union for Democratic ... vs Union of
India & Others 1982 AIR 1473, 1983 SCR (1) 456
· 2. Occupational Health & Safety ... vs Union of
India & Ors (2014) 3
SCC 547
· 3. Delhi Jal Board vs National Campaign Etc.&
Ors 2011 502 SC
