A nation may do without its millionaires and without its capitalists but a nation can never do without its labour. – Mahatma Gandhi

Introduction

We see the constant struggle between labour and capitalists, and how capital exploits them for its own gain while failing to provide them with basic necessities of life. As a result, India has enacted several of the labour laws aimed at improving the working conditions of workers, many of which are directly related to the growth of industry and the national economy. As a result, the growth of labor legislation is critical for the nation’s growth. The International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1919 paved the way for the development of labour laws in India. In India, labor policy has been very dynamic, adapting and catering as a stimulant to the environment and meeting the needs of social justice and economic development.

Pre-1920s

With the advent of industrialisation, there has been a steady change in the labor force from rural to urban areas; however, colonial authorities paid little attention to work organization, aside from the penal provisions in present at the moment, which were formulated for labor supply and discipline for emerging industries. The majority of British regulations relating to workers revolved primarily around “forced labor.”

The Workmen’s Breach of Contract Act, 1859was a significant piece of legislation at the time. This Act not only demanded fines in cases of employment breaches, but it also provided for orders for specific performance of service.

The government began to intervene in the employment of women and children, as well as the working hours of workers in factories and mines, in the 1880s. The majority of law is the product of various government investigations. However, the legislation was not fairly enforced in these industries’ working practices, resulting in a very limited and selective effect. For example, the Factories Act of 1881 only applied to factories with 100 or more employees using electrical power. The Factories Act of 1891 applied to factories with 50 or more employees on the premises.

Post-World War I and the The 1920s

Several factors mixed the industrial and political environment, including the rise of a strong nationalist movement, the rapid growth of trade unions (which led to the formation of the All India Trade Union Congress in 1920), and the emergence of Communist influence in the labor movement. At that time, the recently formed ILO (International Labour Organization) began to influence the policies in relation to workers.
The Factories Act of 1922, the Mines Act of 1922, and the Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1923 were all protective legislation at the time. With regards to industrial relations, this time saw the advent of a modern outlook, with the formulation of The Trade Union Act of 1926 and the Trade Dispute Act of 1929, both of which are formally still in use by present-day India.

The 1930s and the Pre-Independence Period

Owing to the world economic depression, there was a surge in unemployment. During this period, there was continuous agitation for Indian independence, in which the All India Trade Union Congress played a key role. A wave of strikes accompanied the mass dismissal, which coincided with the economic recession.[1]

In 1929, the British government established the Royal Commission on Labour in India. The Indian Labour Movement opposed the commission. Unrest in the workplace, wage reductions, and employment losses persisted.

The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act of 1946 required employers to provide employees with transparent terms and conditions of employment as required by the Act’s Schedule and the concerned authorities.

The Factories Act of 1948 and the Minimum Wage Act of 1948 were also important statutes during this period. Most of these laws had a system similar to the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947, which limited their application to specific types of industry establishments.

Post- Independence, 1948 Onwards

Following Indian independence, it was resolved that the Indian Central government would be solely responsible for labor-related laws, acting for their interests and reflecting a five-year development plan that included dealing with every phase of a labor’s life, housing, welfare, good working conditions, and wages.

The Dock Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act of 1948 prohibited hiring of casual dock workers. The Employees’ State Insurance Act of 1948 enabled workers to obtain insurance in the event of illness, maternity, accident, or death, while the Plantations Labour Act of 1951 established welfare procedures for workers in the rubber and tea plantation industries. The Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1952 was present in terms of social security legislation.

In addition, India’s consistent and constant labor laws followed the previously identified dual trend. Although trade unions were legally recognized, collective bargaining was recognized, and strikes and lockouts were legal, industrial peace was promoted.

The amendment of the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 in 1982 encapsulated with legislations that outlawed various union, staff, and employer practices that disrupted the legalized system of dispute resolution in some way. The employer’s refusal to bargain collectively in good faith was considered as unfair trade practice.[2]

The labour laws of independent India derive their roots, inspiration, and power partly from the views articulated by important nationalist leaders during the national freedom movement, partly from the debates of the Constituent Assembly, and partly from the provisions of the Constitution and the International Conventions and Recommendations. Significant human rights, as well as United Nations conventions and norms, also inspired the Labour Laws. The sessions of the different Sessions of the Indian Labour Conference and the International Labour Conference have also had a major impact on our labor laws.[3]

The Indian government adopted a policy of economic liberalization in 1991. Since Indian labor laws (including social security laws) were historically inclined to be protective of labor and not conducive to competition in the labor markets, the increased competition in the fast-changing markets presented a new set of challenges.

India’s Recent Developments and Reforms

The Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India has informed on the ease of compliance in order to maintain registers under Specified Labour Laws Rules, 2017 (Ease of Compliance Rule). These rules help establishments to merge registers, in either electronic or physical form, as required by the law. The underlying objective behind this was to reduce the burden of the establishments while also making it easier to do business in India.

The Second National Commission on Labor (2002) proposed that central labor laws be grouped into classes such as:

ü  Industrial Relations

ü  Wages

ü  Social Security

ü  Working conditions and welfare

The Commission proposed this because existing labor laws were outdated, complicated, and had inconsistencies in their definitions. For the sake of transparency and uniformity, the Commission recommended that labor codes be simplified.

The Central Government introduced four bills in 2019 to consolidate 29 central laws into 4 labor codes. There are the following:

1.      Industrial Relations Code includes 3 laws:

1.1  The Trade Unions Act, 1926

1.2  The Industrial Employment (Standing orders) Act, 1946

1.3  The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

It aims to consolidate and amend the laws relating to Trade Unions, conditions of employment in industrial establishment or undertaking, investigation and settlement of industrial disputes. 

2.      Code on Wages includes 4 laws:

2.1  The Payment of Wages Act, 1936

2.2  The Minimum Wages Act, 1948

2.3  The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965

2.4  The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

It aims to regulate wage and bonus payments in all employments (industry, business, trade and manufacture). [4]

3.      Code of Social Security includes 9 laws:

3.1.The Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923

3.2.The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948

3.3.The Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952

3.4.The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959

3.5.The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

3.6.The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972

3.7.The Cine Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981

3.8.The Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996

3.9.The Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008

The code aims to extend social security to all employees and workers either in the organised or unorganised or any other sectors.

4.      Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code includes 13 laws:

4.1  The Factories Act, 1948

4.2  The Plantations Labour Act, 1951

4.3  The Mines Act, 1952

4.4  The Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955

4.5  The Working Journalists (Fixation of Rates of Wages) Act, 1958

4.6  The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961

4.7  The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966

4.8  The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970

4.9  The Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976

4.10                      The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979

4.11                      The Cine-Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1981

4.12                      The Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986

4.13                      The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996

The code aims to consolidate and amend the laws regulating the occupational safety, health and working conditions of the persons employed in an establishment.

The Wages Code was passed in 2019, but the other three bills were referred to the Labour Standing Committee. Following the Committee’s recommendations, the government replaced these bills with new ones in September 2020. In September 2020, the Parliament passed three labor code bills as part of a plan to consolidate the country’s numerous labor laws.

Conclusion

Various legislations have been enacted to resolve various labor law concerns. These Acts were passed to bring to light the social and economic problems that the working class faces. Since labor laws are dynamic in nature, new legislation were drafted to adapt to the changing world and to ensure that they continue to evolve. India is working with the International Labor Organization on a variety of potential opportunities and projects.