In November, the government consolidated 44 labour laws into four labour codes – the Code on Wages, the Industrial Relations Code, the Code on Social Security and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code.
In this episode of our discussion series, veteran lawyer and activist Indira Jaising, general secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress Amarjeet Kaur and general secretary of the New Trade Union Initiative Gautam Mody explain to Harsh Mander how this move has effectively dismantled even the weakened labour protections of earlier labour laws.
They have legitimised a regime of contract and casual work, even in the formal public sector, and of hire and fire. They have excluded the majority of workers from the weak labour protections that remain. The right to form unions, to collectively bargain and to strike have been substantially decimated.
The participants question why trade unions were not involved in the consultation process of the codes.
They also argue that the new labour codes reinforce social hierarchies by forcing those who are already considered lower in society to remain exactly where they are. The conversation also leads to a troubling recognition that the labour codes are not merely economic reforms, but also perpetuate the caste-based oppression within the labour system.
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