The Union government’s move to notify the long-pending Labour Codes marks the biggest overhaul of India’s labour laws since Independence. By replacing 29 existing laws with four sweeping Codes, the Centre claims it is simplifying compliance and boosting the “speed of doing business”. But the manner in which these Codes were passed and notified, without meaningful debate in Parliament, without consulting trade unions or even convening the Indian Labour Conference for nearly a decade, raises serious concerns about the democratic process. Many observers note that the Codes transfer essential legislative powers from Parliament to the Executive, allowing key decisions on wages, working hours and safety to be set through rules that can be changed without scrutiny.
Beyond process, the content of the Codes significantly weakens worker protections. Higher thresholds for retrenchment, the introduction of fixed-term employment, relaxed safety regulations, and a diluted inspection system together reduce job security and workplace accountability. The right to strike has also been curtailed through procedural hurdles that are nearly impossible to meet. Although the Codes introduce a framework for gig and platform workers, they stop short of recognising them as employees, leaving millions without meaningful social security. Critics argue that these changes undermine constitutional guarantees of equality, dignity, and freedom of association, while pushing India towards a hire-and-fire regime already criticised for deepening inequality.
The Codes also raise serious federal concerns. Labour is a subject on the Concurrent List, yet the Centre now holds wide powers to override states through rule-making. This risks creating a patchwork of labour standards, with states competing to attract investment by lowering protections, a “race to the bottom” that harms workers and weakens India’s democratic balance. Trade unions, farmer organisations, and several political groups have called the Codes an assault on hard-won labour rights and on the federal structure of the Constitution. Their nationwide mobilisation on November 26 signals that these reforms will meet strong and sustained opposition. If economic growth is the goal, it must not come at the cost of workers’ rights or India’s democratic foundations.
– Team CFA
