Pritesh Raj
Considering the established fact that India is an emerging economic power, it is essential to bring the redundant labour laws in vis-a-vis with the economic and sociological conditions of the day. Pursuant to this endeavour, the second National Commission on Labour, 2002 recommended the amalgamation of 29 labour laws into a set of 4 codes which will govern all aspects covered under these legislations. This move by the Indian government has the potential to make India more investment friendly for foreign as well as domestic investors. In its bid toward a more simplified legal structure in India with reference to labour, the government has put forward the following four categories of code which will be enacted after the amalgamation of the 29 labour laws:
- Wage
- Occupational safety and Health
- Social Security
- Industrial health
In 2019, the government introduced The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Condition Code, 2019 (hereinafter referred to as “The Code”), in the lower house of the Indian Parliament. The code is a comprehensive text which encompasses provisions regulating health and safety conditions of establishments employing workers in numerous trade entities and all mines and docks which are presumed to be high risk areas for employees because of the hazardous and strenuous work they are employed to execute.
This is a revolutionary step by the Indian government towards a more simplified legislation which will encompass complex provisions of labour law. The very broadness of the code can be understood from the fact that it emulates from materially different statutes like Factories Act, 1948, Dock Workers Act, 1986 and eleven other statutes which themselves are broad legislations covering essential labour laws.
SALIENT FEATURE’S
Right now for an individual to register his establishment he will have to get as many as 6 separate registrations under 6 of the 13 statutes which are proposed to be amalgamated into this one single code. Nonetheless, if (better yet when) the bill is enacted and turned into a full-fledged legislation it will save considerable duration of time which is spent on paperwork before and during the functioning of the establishment which in turn will increase ease of doing business for new entrepreneurial ventures with limited resource as well as for those who are planning to invest their capital in India. This, coupled with the reduction of 622 sections present in 13 statutes to mere 134 sections present in one single code covering every necessary niche of labour laws related to health and safety will make the code more dynamic and versatile to changing needs in view of emerging times.
It is essential to note that Labour laws come under the concurrent list of the Indian Constitution. This gives the state government power to reform the labour enactment of the Centre to bring it in consonance with the needs of the state as well as keep the body of the code same for the entire nation. Numerous legislations on labour law in effect, overlap each other and create discrepancy. For a state to bring even a minor amendment in labour law for themselves, they have to amend multiple legislations at the same time otherwise these legislations will be in conflict with each other. With this code in effect the state government can amend any relevant provision and bring it in consonance with the exigencies of the state without going through much hassle.
This code will cover a wide array of professions with little or no resemblance with each other. As the demands of every such profession is different, separate provisions for different categories of workers have been incorporated into the code to pay particular attention to those category of workforce whose undertaking demand them to do things which are intrinsically perilous. Different provisions for mines, factories and construction have been included which will give the code the necessary flexibility to conform to the needs of different categories of workforce without deranging the provisions for other spheres of occupation. The fact that it stipulates a certain threshold of workforce below which these norms need not be complied with (except those who are working in Mines and Dock) reduces the burden of compliance on a novice entity allowing them to grow economically and stabilise themselves
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic it should also be taken into consideration that the “third schedule” included in the code specifies 29 different types of diseases which, if any of the worker in the factory contract, then the owner will have to notify the authorities about it forthwith so that firm steps can be taken to contain it. In addition to that these diseases can also indicate compromised hygienic conditions in the factory which can be acted upon by the government in a swift manner.
It gives a threefold solution to multiple problems by not just promoting ease of doing business but will also provide for ease of governance as where earlier an entity had to file multiple returns under different acts it can now complete the same task by filing just one return which will in turn decrease the workload over the government. It will also uphold the rights of workers to a safe and hygienic work environment.
IMPENDING CONCERNS
The code has indeed consolidated existing acts but when it came to simplifying these provisions the code fell short. The National Commission on Labour Recommendation was constituted to simplify labour laws in India by providing for uniform regulations for all entities. Instead of conforming to the recommendations of the Commission, the government presented a Code which provided for employment specific regulations in different chapters of The Code, which is not in consonance with the blueprint presented by the Commission.
Furthermore, provisions of the code need to be complied with only by those establishments who employee ten or more than ten individuals at a time (Except “dock” and “mine” where it is applicable even on a workforce of one individual because of the hazardous nature of work). This gives considerable leeway to smaller enterprises thus making it unnecessary for them to conform to the compliance burden of this code which in turn will have pessimistic implications over the rights of workers who are employed in smaller establishments. A healthy work environment is the right of every individual and this provision of code might bring in more entrepreneurial outlets but these outlets will not be idle institutions to work in. The apex court of India in “Occupational Health and Safety Asso. V. Union of India”, has promulgated that the right to a healthy work environment as a fundamental right of every worker which cannot be rescinded under any circumstance and where the work itself is a hazardous one, it is the responsibility of the employer to have proper safety measures in place to keep his employee out of harm’s way.
Numerous important declarations about standards for trade and industry in the Code have been left to the government to decide and will be notified later. What’s noteworthy is that the Acts which are to be subsumed into this Code specifies them in detail. For instance, the acts regulating beedi, factory and mines specify the threshold of work hours to not cross 9 hours per day and 48 hours per week. This leaves those affected by this Code in conundrum as it is obscure that how stringent these standards will be. Furthermore, after the passage of the Code, the government will have absolute autonomy to declare standards for safety and health as per its whims.
CONCLUSION
The legislations which are to be incorporated into this single Code are archaic in their approach towards modern predicaments. Of the 29 statutes which are to be incorporated into this Code, 18 are more than fifty years old and while some were enacted right after Independence. These archaic statutes are not in consonance with the needs of the time because of the technological as well as sociological developments in our nation. The Occupational safety, Health and Working Condition Code is a breath of fresh air for the labour reform initiative of the Indian government. There are indeed some shortcomings in the Code which have been identified and will need revaluation and rectification but this initiative by the government to amalgamate multiple labour regulating legislations into one single code will go a long way towards simplifying labour laws in India. This can have resounding implications by making India a hotspot for foreign investment because of the hassle free system which this Code promotes.
Pritesh Raj, 1st Year, NUSRL, Ranchi
Picture Credits: 123RF.com
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