Centre to review state laws for 'conflict' with labour codes: Report

The Centre’s Labour Codes has unified 29 labour laws into four main categories – health and working conditions, industrial relations, social security and wages

The Centre will identify state laws that are in conflict with the labour codes it pushed through Parliament and “nudge for modification or scrapping” of non-aligned aspects. This will be done to ensure that the codes are effective and “not undone” by local laws.

“We want to see if there is any conflict between state laws and the codes and how the divergence can be removed,” a top government official told The Economic Times, adding that all state labour laws will be “reviewed, keeping in mind the codes”.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

Among the laws under scrutiny is Maharashtra’s Mathadi law, which gives benefits to labourers carrying loads on their head or back – it would have to seek fresh Presidential assent.

The official said states would be “nudged into addressing these issues as they may not carry out the exercise due to political compulsions".

Calling the process “long overdue”, a labour expert said it will “ensure effective implementation of labour reforms at the ground level”. They also felt that states would provide “a lot of resistance”.

Labour is a joint subject shared by states and the Centre – which has led to several stalemates when it comes to issues such as wages, employment, social security, and industries.