What is the Status of India’s Four New Labor Codes?

February 24, 2022 Posted by India Briefing Written by Naina Bhardwaj Reading Time: 6 minutes

We track the status of India’s four new labor codes as respective state governments are expected to release draft rules for implementation. We also provide a list of the draft rules released by the central government on each of the codes. The four labor codes are the Code on Wages, 2019; Industrial Relations Code, 2020; the Code on Social Security, 2020; and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. The central government has claimed that these enactments will facilitate better labor compliance, introduce accountability, and will be beneficial to both employers and workers.

India boasts of a labor force of around 500 million workers in the organized and unorganized sector. Such a vast labor force provides ample opportunity to convert it into efficient human capital and reap the benefits of the much talked about demographic dividend.

However, the biggest hurdle has remained an overwhelmingly bulky labyrinth of overlapping labor laws and regulations, which ironically fail to include all sections of India’s labor force.

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Since 2019, the federal government has sought to implement major reforms through four new labor codes – the Code on Wages, 2019, Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2020; Code on Social Security Bill, 2020; and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code Bill, 2020.

Their implementation has been deferred since all state governments are not onboard with the provisions contained in the new labor codes. While the federal government had released the draft rules for all four labor codes as early as February 2021, some state governments are yet to release the draft rules for implementation in their respective states.

Labor is a concurrent subject in the Indian constitution, implying that both the federal government as well as the states can legislate on the subject. The four new labor codes will be implemented in India once all the states have published their draft rules.

Which labor laws have been subsumed in the four new codes?

Acts Subsumed by the Four Labor Codes
Labor Codes	Acts being subsumed
Code on Wages, 2019	The Payment of Wages Act, 1936; The Minimum Wages Act, 1948; The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965; and The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020	The Factories Act, 1948 The Contract Labor (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 The Mines Act, 1952 The Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986 The Building & Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 The Plantations Labor Act, 1951 The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 The Working Journalist and other News Paper Employees (Conditions of Service and Miscellaneous Provision) Act, 1955 The Working Journalist (Fixation of rates of wages) Act, 1958 The Cine Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers Act, 1981 The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961 The Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976 The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966
Industrial Relations Code, 2020	The Trade Unions Act, 1926; The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, and The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
Code on Social Security, 2020	The Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923 The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 The Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959 The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 The Cine-Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981 The Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess Act, 1996 The Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008

What is the implementation status of the four labor codes in India?

It is speculated that the four labor codes are likely to be implemented in the next financial year, that is FY 2022-23, once all the states have finalized the draft rules.

As on January 2022, 26 States/Union Territories (UTs) have pre-published the draft rules under the Code on Wages, 22 States/UTs under Industrial Relations Code, 20 States/UTs under Code on Social Security, and 17 States/UTs under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code.

Here’s a list of different states which have pre-published the draft rules for the four codes:

The Code on Wages, 2019: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Manipur, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, UTs of Jammu & Kashmir, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Delhi.
The Industrial Relations Code, 2020: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Manipur, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Punjab, UTs of Jammu & Kashmir, Chandigarh and Puducherry.
Code on Social Security, 2020: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Manipur, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Chandigarh.
Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020: Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Manipur, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Punjab, Gujarat, UTs of Jammu & Kashmir, Chandigarh.

State-Wise Status of New Labor Codes (Draft Rules)
State / Union Territory	Code on Wages, 2019	Industrial Relation Code, 2020	Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020	Code on Social Security, 2020
Andhra Pradesh	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited
Arunachal Pradesh	Released the draft	Released the draft	Released the draft	Released the draft
Assam	Released a draft on October 20, 2021	Released a draft on November 17, 2021	Awaited	Released a draft on October 20, 2021
Andaman and Nicobar	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited
Bihar	Released a draft on February 8, 2021	Released a draft on February 22, 2021	Released a draft on November 8, 2021	Released a draft on February 26, 2021
Chhattisgarh	Released a draft on May 25, 2021	Released a draft on May 25, 2021	Released a draft on May 25, 2021	Released a draft on May 27, 2021
Chandigarh	Released a draft on December28, 2021	Released a draft on December 28, 2021	Released the draft	Released a draft on December 28, 2021
Delhi	Released a draft on November 26, 2021	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited
Dadar and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited
Gujarat	Released a draft on October 5, 2021	Released a draft on October 5, 2021	Released a draft on December 30, 2021	Released a draft on November 16, 2021
Goa	Released a draft on September 23, 2021	Released a draft on October 21, 2021	Released the draft	Released a draft on November 25, 2021
Haryana	Released a draft on September 16, 2021	Released a draft on September 16, 2021	Released a draft on September 16, 2021	Released a draft on September 16, 2021
Himachal Pradesh	Released a draft on August 7, 2021	Released a draft on September 29, 2021	Released the draft	Released a draft on October 30, 2021
Jharkhand	Released a draft on July 14, 2021	Released a draft on July 14, 2021	Released a draft on August 27, 2021	Released a draft on August 3, 2021
Jammu & Kashmir	Released a draft on January 15, 2021	Released a draft on January 15, 2021	Released a draft on February 9, 2021	Released a draft on January 15, 2021
Karnataka	Released a draft on March 2, 2021	Released a draft on May 3, 2021	Awaited	Awaited
Kerala	Released a draft on December 14, 2021	Awaited	Released a draft on December 15, 2021	Released the draft
Ladakh	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited
Lakshadweep	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited
Madhya Pradesh	Released a draft on December 23, 2021	Released a draft on February 9, 2021	Released a draft on February 9, 2021	Released a draft on February 26, 2021
Maharashtra	Released a draft on September 3, 2021	Released a draft on December 3, 2021	Awaited	Released a draft on August 27, 2021
Manipur	Released a draft on November 19, 2021	Released a draft on November 19, 2021	Released a draft on November 19, 2021	Released a draft on November 19, 2021
Meghalaya	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited
Mizoram	Released a draft on November 10, 2021	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited
Nagaland	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited
Odisha	Released a draft on March 10, 2021	Released a draft on May 18, 2021	Released a draft on July 1, 2021	Released a draft on June 8, 2021
Puducherry	Released a draft on November 9, 2021	Released a draft on November 3, 2021	Awaited	Awaited
Punjab	Released a draft on March 24, 2021	Released a draft on May 5, 2021	Released a draft on May 17, 2021	Released a draft on March 25, 2021
Rajasthan	Released a draft on July 14, 2021	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited
Sikkim	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited
Tripura	Released a draft on June 1, 2021	Released a draft on June 19, 2021	Awaited	Released a draft on September 28, 2021
Tamil Nadu	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited
Telangana	Released a draft on September 29, 2021	Released a draft on September 29, 2021	Awaited	Awaited
Uttar Pradesh	Released a draft on February 25, 2021	Released a draft on February 18, 2021	Released a draft on March 23, 2021	Released a draft on March 3, 2021
Uttarakhand	Released a draft on February 25, 2021	Released a draft on February 25, 2021	Released a draft on March 2, 2021	Released a draft on February 26, 2021
West Bengal	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited	Awaited

What are the draft rules released by the central government on the four labor codes?

Central Labor Codes (Draft Rules)
Code on Wages, 2019	Codes on Wages (Central) Rules Code on Wages (Central Advisory Board) Rules
Industrial Relation Code, 2020	Industrial Relation (Central) Rules Recognition of Negotiating Union or Negotiating Council and Adjudication of Disputes of Trade Unions (Central) Rules Draft Model Standing Order for Service Sector Draft Model Standing Order for Manufacturing Sector & Mining Sector
Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020	The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules Rules for Constitution of Technical Committees under Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code
Code on Social Security, 2020	The Code on Social Security (Central) Rules The Code on Social Security (Employee’s Compensation) (Central) Rules

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