The Central and the state Governments have pre-published new draft rules to strengthen the implementation of the four Labour Codes. The Government has also extended an invitation to all stakeholders to provide their insights on these draft rules.
On 12 December 2022, Rameswar Teli, the minister of state for labour and employment presented the draft Rules in front of the Parliament. Some of the important provisions stated in the press release are –
> Provision for annual health check-ups and medical facilities
> Statutory provision for the first time to issue an appointment letter to every employee of the establishment
> Provision for a reskilling fund for the skill development of workers
> Workers engaged under Fixed Term Employment (FTE) are entitled to all the benefits available to permanent employees as well as gratuity if they have rendered service for a year
> Applicability of the Employees’ Provident Fund has been extended to all industries as against scheduled industries at present
The Government published the Labour Codes in the Official Gazette for general information. These four Labour Codes include the Code on Wages 2019, the Industrial Relations Code 2020, the Code on Social Security 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020. The purpose of these four Labour codes is to provide a protected and safe working environment to the workers, which includes unorganised employees working for statutory minimum wage, and also provide social security and healthcare to the employees.
