The Centre has requested the law ministry’s opinion on whether the Union government can enforce the proposed labour codes without unanimous agreement from all states, reported Moneycontrol citing official sources.
The move comes in the backdrop of West Bengal’s hesitation to adopt these rules, according to officials cited by the report.
It might be legally challenging to proceed without every state’s agreement, as the codes require a uniform rollout, the report quoted an official as saying.
Previously, Moneycontrol cited Sumita Dawra, secretary to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, as saying that while approximately 30 states have fully agreed to implement the codes, others like Tamil Nadu and Delhi have only partially notified the draft rules. She added that West Bengal has, for now, declined to participate in the reform agenda, the report highlighted.
Another official acknowledged that the situation could become problematic for West Bengal, as the implementation of the labour code would result in the repeal of the existing laws, the report claimed. The official expressed confidence that all states, including West Bengal, would eventually come on board, suggesting that consensus-building efforts are likely to succeed.
The Centre would be able to persuade West Bengal to support the new codes by highlighting their benefits, the report noted.
What are the new labour codes?
To improve the ease of doing business, the government had previously consolidated 29 central labour laws into four labour codes: the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations (IR) Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security (SS Code), 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH&WC) Code, 2020.
Although these codes were cleared by Parliament, their implementation has been delayed since 2020. They are now part of the new government’s agenda to be accomplished within its first 100 days after the General Election.
Moneycontrol cited a former senior official from the labour ministry saying it would be challenging for the government to enforce the new rules without the consent of every state government. The former official explained that while the government could pass the labour codes without state agreement, a state could challenge the new codes in court, potentially halting their implementation until a judicial decision is made.
The former official further explained that state governments cannot indefinitely oppose the central government’s efforts. They would be required to provide both a timeline and a valid reason for their objections. Once these concerns are addressed, the state would be expected to comply.
The Union government is planning a series of regional workshops to engage stakeholders, including state governments, on the proposed labour codes, as it seeks to build consensus around this reform, Dawra had said on August 9.
First Published: Aug 13 2024 | 4:16 PM IS