Modi Government Makes Big Push For Simplifying Labour Legislation By Merging 44 Laws In Four Categories

The Modi government is planning to introduce a new Labour Bill in the upcoming session of the Parliament with an aim to help investors and accelerate growth, reports Economic Times.

The new labour legislation would merge the existing 44 labour laws under four specific categories - wages, social security, industrial safety and welfare, and industrial relations. The bill is likely to be introduced in the Lok Sabha, after getting nod of the union cabinet, in the second week of the coming Parliament session.

The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by the Home Minister Amit Shah and attended by FInance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar and Commerce and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.

"A new Labour Bill will be introduced in the coming session of the Parliament," Union Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar told mediapersons on Tuesday (11 June) after the hour-long meeting.

According to the report, the bill is expected to create a single social security law by merging the Employees' Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, Employees' State Insurance Corporation Act, Maternity Benefits Act, Building and Other Construction Workers Act and the Employees' Compensation Act.

Similarly, several industrial safety and welfare laws such as the Factories Act, the Mines Act and the Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, will be merged to create a single category on industrial safety and welfare.

The Minimum Wages Act, the Payment of Wages Act, the Payment of Bonus Act, the Equal Remuneration Act and a few others are likely to be merged.

Labour Code on Industrial Relations will combine Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Trade Unions Act, 1926, and the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946.