India’s Labour Reforms: Simplification, Security, and Sustainable Growth

Key Points

1. 29 labour laws consolidated into four Labour Codes.
2. Employment rose from 47.5 crore in 2017-18 to 64.33 crore in 2023-24.
3. Unemployment rate declined from 6.0% to 3.2% between 2017-18 and 2023-24.
4. 1.56 crore women entered the formal workforce.
5. The Code on Wages, 2019 was notified on August 8th, 2019.
6. The Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 were notified on September 29th, 2020.
7. The Code on Wages, 2019 consolidates four existing laws: The Payment of Wages Act, 1936; The Minimum Wages Act, 1948; The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965; and The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.