By Dr. Gyan Pathak
The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has two tough tasks in hand – employment generation and roll-out of four labour codes that the Modi 2:0 government had been keeping in abeyance for the last four years due to stiff resistance from the joint platform of 10 Central Trade Unions (CTUs).
Union Labour secretary Sumita Dawra is scheduled to meet the labour secretaries and commissioners of the states on June 20 to take stock of the status of framing of rules according to labour codes. Labour reforms are part of the NDA government’s 100-day agenda to enhance ease of doing business and attract investment.
Officially, the aim of the meeting is to ensure readiness among states, and ensure there is no divergence among states and central rules before the nationwide rollout of the labour codes, and their smooth implementation, but it would prove to be a most challenging task for the new part-time Union Minister of Labour and Employment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has replaced the Union Minister of Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav with Mansukh Mandaviya, who hails from the home state of the Prime Minister, Gujarat. Mandaviya has been made in charge of the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment to carry out more labour reforms and implement the four controversial labour codes that were passed in 2019 and 2020.
However, the smooth implementation of the labour codes is doubtful as Mandaviya is also the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. Modi’s decision to give charge of the Labour ministry to a part-time minister is strange as the workforce in India is undergoing an unprecedented crisis of declining real wages, rising unemployment, both in the formal and informal sectors, of over 90 percent. The current unemployment rate is hovering at a historical high of 7-8 per cent with labour force participation at around 400 million out of about one billion in the working age.
Labour and Employment actually needs a full-time Union Minister, especially when the government wants to roll out the four controversial labour codes. While CTUs are resisting tooth and nail, alleging the codes are anti-labour and pro-Corporate would bring economic slavery to the Indian workforce.
Employment generation would be a tough task for the NDA government after having failed in the endeavour for a decade. In March this year, Chief Economic Advisor V Ananta Nageswaran released the “India Employment Report 2024: Youth Employment, Education and Skills”, a joint publication of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Institute for Human Development (IHD), saying that it was incorrect to assume that the government can solve all social and economic problems, such as unemployment. This shows how difficult the task of employment generation would be for the part-time Union Minister of Labour and Employment.
In the one decade of Modi rule, unemployment reached 6.1 percent in 2017-18, a 45-year high. Presently, it is hovering around 7-8 percent. Out of those who found jobs, 82 percent were in the informal sector, without any social security, as per the India Employment Report 2024. Self-employed were 55.8 percent, casual workers 22.7 percent, and 21.5 percent in regular employment. Given this track record, unless the government changes its policy of pushing jobless growth and accepts the ILO and UN recommendation of human centric development strategy, employment generation would remain tough.
Rolling out of labour codes will also not be an easy task given the stiff resistance from the CTUs, which have been campaigning against PM Narendra Modi, fearing his return for a third term. The controversial labour codes are a sensitive issue. There have been numerous protests against them in the last five years. The Modi-led coalition government would do itself good if the codes are given another look. Maybe, the codes are why a part-time minister has been given charge of the Labour and Employment ministry.
Chances are in the changed political situation, with Modi reduced to running a coalition government, the NDA government will have second thoughts and would not roll out the labour codes. There are several problems and many stakeholders are not yet ready for the codes. The CII says the codes should be rolled out smoothly after taking key stakeholders on board, especially the MSMEs and industrial clusters.
There are states which are yet to formulate rules. Moreover, if the codes are to be uniformly enforced across the country, all the states must be on board, especially the opposition-ruled states, such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Delhi. At present, only 22 states and Union Territories have framed rules across all four codes while six have made rules across three codes. Eight states and UTs – Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and NCT Delhi have not even published draft rules so far under one or more labour codes.
Moreover, since the joint platform of the 10 CTUs are ready for stiffer opposition to rolling out of labour codes, the task for implementing them would be far more difficult The opposition INDIA bloc has emerged stronger after the Lok Sabha election 2024, especially in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The implementation of the labour codes in these states would be far more difficult. (IPA Service)
