A lot is now being heard about the new labour codes. What they are, why do we need them, whom will they impact and in what way: there are far too many queries in our minds. Let us try to decode the new labour codes in this article.
The four new labour codes— Code on Social Security, 2020, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, Industrial Relations Code, 2020, and Code on Wages, 2019 — subsume the existing 29 central labour and industrial laws and aim to avoid multiplicity of laws. The government wants to facilitate ease of compliance and achieve equity for all. The new codes will ensure better use of technology for various compliances and effective enforcement.
Do the new labour codes apply only to blue collar employees or would they also apply to white collar employees? The answer is that the labour codes would apply to all employees irrespective of the role/level/nature of duties/salary (with minimal exceptions) of the organisation.
