Rules are key to labour codes

The notification of four labour codes by the Union government, passed by Parliament earlier, marks a major reform, subsuming 29 laws, some of which date back to the colonial era.

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Making big changes, the Codes on Wages, Industrial Relations, Social Security, and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions seek to lend contemporaneity to labour regulation by bringing parity for women workers, fixing a national floor wage, introducing social security for migrant and gig workers, early gratuity for fixed-term workers after one year, and an expanded ESI coverage. A national database of unorganised workers and the use of Aadhaar for benefits distribution are positive, promising an easier claims process. As a far-reaching legislative framework governing millions of workers, though, the codes should have been widely discussed earlier. Three of them were passed by Parliament just when the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading in 2020. Moreover, even the discussion on the bills in the Lok Sabha was perfunctory due to