Government Moves Wages Code & Occupational Safety & Health Code in Lok Sabha to Augment Existing Labour Laws

The two labour codes the Code on Wages and the Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) moved by the Government in the Lok Sabha – are expected to benefit about 50-crore workers. The Wages Code aims to provide fixed minimum wages across states and also their timely payment to all employees irrespective of the industry and the wage ceiling applicable to it. The OSH Code, apart from other provisions shall enable women to make choice of their own will whether to work in night shifts or not. The law, if passed, shall also enable courts to grant a part of monetary penalties (upto 50%) to workers who could have been victims of accidents at workplace or in case of death, to their immediate family members.

Two more such codes are in the works. All the four codes, if passed, shall be able to subsume 44 labour laws. In particular, The Wages Code, once enacted, will subsume the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. The logic behind enacting The Wages Code is to provide the ‘Right to Sustenance’ for each worker and to increase legislative protection of minimum wage from the existing 40 per cent to 100 per cent of the workforce. The statutory Act shall provide protection and ensure better living conditions for about 50-crore workers.

Most states, as of now, have multiple minimum wages and The Wages Code has been conceptualized to rationalise the methodology to fix minimum wages. It shall do away with ‘type of employment’ as a criterion and rather the minimum wage will be fixed primarily based on geography and skills.

The OSH Code will replace thirteen laws relating to factories, mines, dock workers, building workers, plantations labour, contract labour, inter-State migrant workmen, working journalists and motor transport workers, apart from others. It is meant to augment the provision of safety, health, welfare and working conditions from the existing nine major sectors to all establishments having ten or more employees. Presently, there are different applicability thresholds for welfare provisions like crèche, canteen, first aid and welfare officer in different Acts. The proposed Code envisages uniform thresholds for welfare provision for all establishments to the extent practicable. Also, under the new Code, consent need to be taken from women to work beyond 7 pm and before 6 am.

Key Highlights: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Bill 2019

• The bill simplifies, amalgamates and rationalises the provisions of thirteen central labour laws.

• It expands the ambit of the provisions relating to working conditions of cine, theatre workers and journalists.

• It expands the definition of family to include dependent grandparents.

• It allows the women employees to work at night.

Code on Wages Bill 2019

• The bill simplifies the definition of wages.

• It universalises the provisions of minimum wages and timely payment of wages to employees irrespective of the sector and wage ceiling.

• It seeks to increase the legislative protection of minimum wage to 100 per cent of the workforce.

• Minimum wage will be fixed based on geography and skills.