Aiming at encouraging and helping investors and accelerating the economic growth, the Modi government is planning to merge 44 different labour laws under four category – wages, social security, industrial relations, industrial safety and welfare.
The decision has been taken at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah and attended by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar, Commerce and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal among others.
On Tuesday, after the long hour meetings, Gangwar told reporters, “A new Labour Bill will be introduced in the coming session of the Parliament.”
Adding to which, he said that the draft of the bill will be placed before the Union Cabinet after which it will be welcomed at Lok Sabha. It is supposed to introduce possibly in the second week of the coming Parliament session.
“All major labour unions in the country were consulted by the government for the new labour laws,” he added.
After claimed by an official, the dealing categories are wages, social security, industrial safety and welfare and industrial relations.
The laws related to social security which would significantly include Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation Act, Maternity Benefits Act, Building and Other Construction Workers Act and the Employees’ Compensation Act will be glued together to create a single social security law or code.
Whereas, industrial safety and welfare laws such as the Factories Act, the Mines Act and the Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, will be taken together to create a single category on industrial safety and welfare.
Aligned with others, the Labour Code on Industrial Relations will combine the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Trade Unions Act, 1926, and the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946.
Also, the Minimum Wages Act, the Payment of Wages Act, the Payment of Bonus Act, the Equal Remuneration Act and a few others are likely to be merged.
According to an official, the proposed new labour law will help investors and is expected to accelerate growth.
