Ahead of general elections next year, Santosh Kumar Gangwar-led labour ministry is ggressively pushing labour codes, which it says aim to establish the dignity of every worker through provision of social security, enhancing the avenues and quality of employment. The ministry has recently sent the Labour Code on Industrial Relations Bill, 2018 to the cabinet for consideration after which it plans to table the bill in the Parliament, labour ministry said in a statement on Thursday. The Draft Code on Wages Bill, 2017 has already been introduced in the Lok Sabha last year and is being examined by Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour.
The report of the Standing Committee is being awaited. Labour code on wages and industrial relations are two of the four codes that labour ministry had been working over the last few years. In line with recommendations of Second National Commission on Labour, ministry had formed four labour codes, namely wages, industrial relations, social security & welfare and occupational safety, health and working conditions by amalgamating, simplifying, and rationalizing the relevant provisions of the existing 44 central labour laws.
The draft code on social security & welfare as well as the code on occupational safety, health and working conditions are in various stages of consultation. According to labour ministry statement, the ministry has undertaken two key surveys to assess the employment scenario in the country, an issue that has been daunting the BJP-led NDA government for a long time now
