Labour Law Reform

Stating that the new labour law introduced by the BJP-led central government was "befooling" workers, West Bengal Labour minister Moloy Ghatak on Tuesday told the Assembly that the state government would not comply with them. Ghatak alleged that if the law was implemented, numerous workers would be deprived of social security like Provident Fund and benefits of the Employees' State Insurance (ESI). The minister called on everyone to fight together against the new labour law of the Centre. He claimed that the new labour rules of the central government state that if someone was earning more than Rs 15,000 per month, then he could no longer be called a worker. Ghatak also briefed the Assembly about the various steps taken by the state government for the development of the working class. He said that the state government would continue raising the salary of the tea garden workers as long as the minimum wage approved by the Labour Board was implemented. He alleged that the erstwhile Le

Labour economist K R Shyam Sundar said the "vaguely constructed" new labour laws were at the root of the "malady"

Industrialists Anand Mahindra and Adar Poonawalla batted for quality of work over quantity after L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan advocated for a 90-hour work week

Five states are yet to pre-publish draft rules under three codes on Industrial Relations, Social Security and Occupational Safety, Parliament was informed on Monday. Four states or Union Territories have also not pre-publish draft rules on Code on Wages, 2019, required to bring labour reforms in the country, showed a written reply by Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shobha Karandlaje in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The minister explained that 'Labour' as a subject is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, and under the Codes, the power to make rules has been entrusted to the central government and state governments. As a step towards the implementation of four Labour Codes, she informed that the central government has pre-published the draft rules. After notifying the Codes, the government has undertaken three tripartite consultations on the draft Central Rules under all four Codes on December 21, 2020, January 12, 2021 and January 20, 2021. As per available information,

The remaining three states, including West Bengal, which had previously raised concerns about the codes, have now agreed to draft the necessary subordinate legislation to enforce them

Australia introduces new 'Right to Disconnect' laws: Find out what it means for workers and employers

Trade Unions also suggested stopping the privatisation of public sector undertakings

The workers requested wage raises for the next three years but could not reach an amicable resolution, according to the letter

A comprehensive jobs data is the need of the hour in India to help understand what kind of employment opportunities are getting created and which sectors are hiring, and the government should look at developing an equivalent of the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) in the US, Wadhwani Foundation Global President and CEO Ajay Kela told PTI. "India is a young country and the youth population is massive. Every month we have one million people who turn 18 and they need jobs. We must make sure there are jobs available for all such people who need to support themselves and their families," Kela told PTI in an interview on Tuesday. On his expectations from the interim budget, Kela said, "What's missing in India is that there is no solid data in the job space. The US has the BLS, we don't have an equivalent of that. "Any programmes or schemes you develop... in the absence of not understanding what jobs are getting created, which sectors are hiring, what do the next 4-5 years look like in ..

The Andaman and Nicobar administration is expediting the process of granting financial benefits to 4,000 left-out daily rated mazdoors (DRMs) by November 30 as per directions of the Supreme Court, a senior official said. After being snubbed by Calcutta High Court for non-compliance of its order in releasing benefits to the DRMs, Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Admiral D K Joshi (Retd.), in an order on August 11, granted financial benefits of 1/30th pay plus Dearness Allowances (DA) to nearly 4,000 DRMs from 2017. The senior administrative official told PTI, "We are taking care of the DRM issue as we have to complete the task by November 30 this year. We are working on expediting the process of granting financial benefits to nearly 4,000 left-out DRMs." Andaman Sarvajanik Nirman Vibhag Mazdoor Sangh, an association of DRMs, moved the Calcutta High Court, accusing the island administration of not granting them financial benefits despite a 2017 high court order. On August

Allowing 12-hour shifts for all and nighttime work for women was meant to benefit software firms, but is said to have clinched Foxconn's Rs 8,000 cr investment

When asked about the timeframe on introducing the Codes, sources said this would be done "as soon as possible". "We are talking to all states," the official cited above said

The four labour codes on wages, social security, industrial relations and occupation safety, health and working conditions are likely to be implemented by the next fiscal year

The rules relating to these codes, finalised by the union labour ministry, are silent on several concerns of Indian enterprises and other stakeholders

The count of the unemployed mounted to 38.7 million in December 2020 compared to 27.4 million in November, registering a massive increase of 11.3 million

The SC is seen to have lost much of its stature while dealing with political and human rights issues in recent times. In that context, its decisions on labour laws will be analysed threadbare

If they are unable to reskill within a fixed period of time, they will have to return the money given to them by the government

Govt must stay the course on fixed-term contract jobs

The implementation of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' package and unlocking of the economy have ensured that economic recovery in India has gained momentum

The new labour laws will be made effective by the government later