LEGISLATIVE COMMENTARY ON THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS CODE – 2020
AUTHOR – BAIBHABI TRIPATHY, STUDENT AT SYMBIOSIS LAW SCHOOL, PUNE
Best Citation – BAIBHABI TRIPATHY, LEGISLATIVE COMMENTARY ON THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS CODE – 2020, ILE LEXTOR, 1 (1) of 2023, Pg. 27-32, APIS – 3920 – 0039 | ISBN – 978-81-964391-3-2.
INTRODUCTION
“Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws , you would not hear of that party again in our political history.”[1]
– Dwight D. Eisenhower
In the two decades after the liberalization of the Indian economy, the issue over whether or not the country’s labour laws restrict the mobility of workers has been front and centre. Changes to India’s labour laws have been on the table for some time. Employers have long sought for labour law simplification to improve “ease of doing business.”[2]In response to this outcry from business leaders, the Indian government is actively pursuing one of the key recommendations of the “2002 Report of the Second National Commission on Labour”[3]: the simplification and integration of all labour regulations into a few labour codes.
Four labour codes were subsequently drafted and approved by the Indian Parliament in the year 2020. The new set of labour laws known as the “(1) Industrial Relations Code (2) the Code on Occupational Safety and Working Conditions Code, (3) the Social Security Code, and (4) the Code on Wages”[4] replace and modernize a total of 44 older statutes. “The Industrial Relations Code amended and subsumed the following three labor laws:
- The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
- The Industrial Employment (standing orders) Act, 1946
The Trade Unions Act, 1926[5]
[1] Quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower
[2] “India: the Industrial Relations Code, 2020” by A. Obhan and B. Bhalla
[3] Report of the Second National Commission on Labour With Emphasis on Rationalization of Labour Laws & Unorganized Labour, 2002 (Thirty Ninth Session of the Indian Labour Conference New Delhi – October 16-18, 2003)
[4] The Evolution of Labour Law in India : An overview and commentary on Regulatory Objectives and Development , Asian Journal of Law and Society ,Volume 1 , Issue 02 .
[5] Report of the Second National Commission on Labour With Emphasis on Rationalization of Labour Laws & Unorganized Labour, 2002, (ThirtyNinth Session of the Indian Labour Conference New Delhi – October 16-18, 2003)