Abstract
In a historic move for labour law, India on 21st November 2025 enacted four new consolidated labour laws that replaced 29 separate labour laws in India that were created over an eight decade span. These new labour laws represent the largest single overhaul of labour law since India gained independence in 1947. The four new codes are: Wages Code; Labour Code on Industrial Relations; Labour Code on Social Security; and Labour Code on Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions. The new codes will establish standard definitions of terms, extend protective coverage to workers in the gig economy, improve the compliance process for employers and seek to create a balance between giving employers greater flexibility while providing workers greater access to social protection. This paper will examine what these new codes mean to labour landscape of India. In this paper we will review the significant changes that occur through the new codes regarding the determination of wages, the regulation of collective bargaining, the social security system and workplace health and safety. The paper will also address some of the major concerns related to the implementation of the new codes higher thresholds for layoffs/retrenchments, restrictions on strikes, lower levels of coverage of the informal sector and the differences between the promises made by the legislation and the ability of the administration to implement those provisions. Using published notices studies on labour law reform and international labour standards as benchmarks for comparison, this paper will assess whether new labour codes of India provide real reforms or simply provide a formalized way to continue business friendly deregulation.
Keywords: Organised Sector, Unorganised Sector, Gig Workers, Social Security and Strike
I. Introduction
On 21st November 2025, India entered a new stage in its labour law reforms. The Government of India implemented the four labour codes which have been in effect since that date.[1] The four codes combine twenty nine labour laws into four broad codes. The purpose of consolidating these laws is to reduce the complexity of compliance for employers and update some of the outdated provisions of colonial era laws.
The four codes include the Code on Wages, 2019;[2] the Industrial Relations Code, 2020;[3] the Code on Social Security, 2020;[4] and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.[5] Each of the codes includes several prior laws and include some very substantial policy changes to those prior laws.
There is much debate surrounding this reform. The government is framing the reform as an attempt at modernizing the labour law framework of India. Business organizations are welcoming the reduction in the regulatory burden on business. However trade unions are condemning the reform as a weakening of rights of workers. In order to evaluate the potential of the codes to achieve the stated goals by the government this paper will explore the content of the codes their promises, mechanisms and constraints. This paper is divided in eight sections. Section II will provide background information regarding the history of labour regulations in India. Sections III to VI will analyze the substance of the provisions of each code. Section VII will provide analysis of the constraints on implementing the codes. Section VIII will contain conclusions.
[1]Ministry of Lab. & Emp’t, Gov’t Announces Implementation of Four Labour Codes to Simplify and Streamline Labour Laws, Press Info. Bureau (Nov. 21, 2025), https://labour.gov.in/sites/default/files/pib2192463.pdf.
[2]The Code on Wages, 2019, No. 29 of 2019, India Code (2019).
[3]The Industrial Relations Code, 2020, No. 35 of 2020, India Code (2020).
[4]The Code on Social Security, 2020, No. 36 of 2020, India Code (2020).
[5]The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, No. 37 of 2020, India Code (2020).