Trade unions slam Centre on four labour codes

The Centre came under flak for notifying the four labour codes, with members of the All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), and others staging a demonstration against it in the city on Saturday (November 22).

The four labour codes — the Code on Wages 2019, the Industrial Relations Code 2020, the Code on Social Security 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020 — were made effective from November 21, 2025, and the government justified that these would herald transformational change and ensure better wages, safety, social security, and enhanced welfare for India’s workforce.

The AIUTUC Mysuru district committee said that the Centre has passed these without bearing in mind the welfare of the working class and instead in the name of ‘’ease of doing business’’. It is pro-capitalist, which curtails the rights of the workers and dilutes the protection they have, according to AIUTUC.

Dubbing the four labour codes as anti-labour, the trade union said that these make it easier to lay off workers and close down units. Under the Industrial Relations Code, the size of the establishments that require government permission to lay off employees or close down factories has been increased, said AIUTUC leaders. ‘’In some states, the limit has been extended to establishments with 300 workers while previously it was 100. This makes it easier for small and medium-sized establishments to lay off workers, which will reduce job security,’’ said Shivanand, AIUTUC member, Mysuru.

He said the Industrial Relations Code has broadened the definition of the term ‘’strike’’ and mandated a 14-day notice before going on strike. This has weakened the collective bargaining power of the workers, said Mr. Shivanand.

Expressing concern that the new codes have paved way for greater centralisation of labour laws, the AIUTUC argued that there will be less control and monitoring and though the codes claim to simplify compliance, this can actually lead to a weak labour inspection system. While the Code on Social Security includes gig workers and contract workers, it does not ensure comprehensive and mandatory social security for all workers, the trade union argued.

There were also concerns that the working hours would be increased under the Code on Wages and pave way for organisations to increase it from eight hours to 12 hours, thus mounting pressure on the workers.

Similarly, CITU also condemned the ‘’unilateral implementation of anti-labour, pro-employer’’ labour codes and described it as a ‘’fraudulent deception perpetrated by the Centre against the working people of the country’’.

It said the notification was arbitrary and undemocratic since a joint forum of 10 central trade unions and an independent industrial federation have been opposing the implementation of the labour codes.

The CITU said the government has felt emboldened after the results of the Bihar elections and warned that it would be opposed and countered with an organised struggle. ‘’If implemented, these codes will destroy the hopes, faith, and aspirations of the next generation,’’ it said.