The Lower House of the Parliament has introduced the Labour Reform Bills. These bills shall bring in the holistic development in the country by keeping the labour interest in mind. 29 labour laws have been subsumed and simplified, transparent and easy to implement labour codes have been introduced in the Parliament. All the 29 labour laws are being subsumed in these 4 codes.
Salient features of the Social Security Code, 2020:
Extending the reach of ESIC:
• Maximum possible workers shall be given the benefit under the ESIC reforms.
• ESIC shall now be provided in 740 districts, which was currently available only in 566 districts.
• All the establishments having hazardous activities shall mandatorily register for ESIC, even if they have one worker.
• Gig workers and unorganised sector shall be linked to ESIC as well.
• Plantation workers have the option to link themselves to the ESIC.
• All the establishments having less than 10 workers have the option of becoming a member of ESIC.
Extending the reach of EPFO:
• All the establishments having 20 workers shall be registered under EPFO. Presently, it was only applicable to establishments listed under the schedule.
• All the establishments having less than 20 workers shall have the option to become a member of the EPFO.
• Schemes would be formulated for bringing workers coming under the category of ‘Self-employed’ or falling under any other category under the aegis of EPFO.
• Social security fund shall be formulated to provide financial aid to implement the schemes.
• Platform workers and gig workers shall be covered under the ambit of the EPFO.
• Fixed term employment shall now have the provision of gratuity.
• Registration of all the workers shall now be done online and the registration shall be done based on the self-certification procedure.
• All the establishments having more than 20 workers shall report the job vacancy mandatorily.
Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020
• Free health check-ups of all the workers shall be carried out once a year over a certain age limit.
• Workers have the legal right to obtain the appointment letter.
• Cine Workers have been designated as Audio Visual Worker, so that more and more workers get covered under the OSH code. Earlier, this security was being given to artists working in films only.
Industrial Relations Code, 2020
• Provision for two members in the Industrial Dispute Tribunal has been made. So, even if one member is absent the work can go on smoothly.
• If at the conciliation stage a dispute is not resolved, one can directly take the matter to the tribunal.
• Award at the implementation tribunal shall be given within 30 days.
• Workers will get the option of Fixed Term Employment instead of contract labour. Under this, they would get benefits of hours of work, salary, social security, and other welfare benefits like a Regular Employee.
• Negotiation Union and Negotiation Council shall be established for the negotiation of any dispute.
• Trade Unions can now go to the tribunal.
• Provision has been made for giving recognition to Trade Unions at Central and State level. This recognition has been given in the labour laws for the first time and after this recognition, Trade Unions would be able to contribute more affirmatively and more effectively at the Central and State level.
• Provision for the RE-Skilling fund has been made in the law for the first time. Its aim would be to re-skill those workers who have been fired from their jobs, so that they are easily able to get employment again. For this, workers would be given 15 days salary within a period of 45 days.
• The definition for migrant workers has now been extended. It shall also include migrant workers coming from one state to another rather than migrant workers only appointed by the contractor.
Benefits of the Labour Codes:
• Migrant workers shall have compulsory helpline to resolve their issues.
• A national database shall be formulated for the migrant workers.
• Provision for accumulation of one day leave for every 20 days worked, when work has been done for 180 days instead of 240 days.
• Women have now been permitted to work in every sector at night, but the safety and security of the women shall be ensured by the establishments.
• 50% compensation shall be given by the establishment in case of death of a worker due to accident along with the employee’s compensation.
• Social security fund shall be created for 40 crores unorganized sector.
• 14 days strike notice shall be given.
