Chapter 5

Right to Minimum
Wages for everyone
Four Labour Laws have been amalgamated into
the Minimum Wages Code. Due to this, for the
first time, all the workers have got the Right to
Minimum Wages.
Labour Code (Wage Code) – 2019: Workers will
get benefitted

• After 73 years of independence, work is being

done to provide wage security, social security
and health security to 50 crore workers,
covering organized and unorganized sectors.
• The guarantee of minimum wages is available
to 50 crore workers of organized and
unorganized sectors.
• Review of minimum wages in every 5 years.
• Guarantee of timely payment of wages to all
workers.
New Labour Code For New India 10
• Equal remuneration to male and female
workers.
• For the first time, around 40 crore workers of
unorganized sector in the country have got
this right.
• To remove regional disparity in minimum
wages the provision of floor wage has been
introduced.
• The determination of minimum wages has
been made easy. It will be based on criteria
such as skill level and geographical area.
• From 28.08.2017 Payment of Wages Act has
increased the wage ceiling from Rs. 18000 to
Rs. 24000.

To replace inspector raj system,

inspector will be made inspector
cum facilitator and random web
based inspection system will also
be started.

(New Labour Code for New India)

11 New Labour Code For New India

Chapter 6

Social Security for

everyone
To ensure security for all workers, the Central
Government has amalgamated 9 Labour Laws
into the Social Security Code in order to secure
the right of workers for insurance, pension,
gratuity, maternity benefit etc.
Through this Code, a comprehensive legal
framework for Social Security has to be created
so that workers can receive social security
completely.
Under this, in a step wise manner, a system
would be institutionalized for the contributions
received from employer and worker.
The Government can fund the contribution of
workers from disadvantaged section.

New Labour Code For New India 12

Social Security Code, 2020
• Through a small contribution, benefit of free
treatment is available under hospitals and
dispensaries of ESIC.
• The doors of ESIC will now be opened for the
workers of all sectors along with the workers
of the unorganized sector.
• Expansion of ESIC hospitals, dispensaries and
branches upto district level. This facility to
be increased from 566 districts to all the 740
districts of the country.
• Even if a single worker is engaged in hazardous
work, he would be given ESIC benefit.
• Opportunity to join ESIC for platform and gig
workers engaged in new technology.
• Plantation workers to get benefit of ESIC.
• Institutions working in hazardous area to be
compulsorily registered with ESIC.
Expansion of Social Security
• Benefit of pension scheme (EPFO) to all workers
of organized, unorganized and self-employed
sectors.
13 New Labour Code For New India
• Creation of social security fund for providing
comprehensive social security to the
unorganized sector.
• Requirement of minimum service has been
removed for payment of gratuity in case of
fixed term employees.
• Employees engaged on fixed term to get
same social security benefit as permanent
employees.
• Creating a national database of workers of
unorganized sector through registration on
Portal.
• Employers employing more than 20 workers
to mandatorily report vacancies online.
• A Universal Account Number (UAN) for ESIC,
EPFO and Unorganised Sector workers.
• Aadhaar based Universal Account Number
(UAN) to ensure seamless portability.

New Labour Code For New India 14

Chapter 7

Right of security
to workers in all
situations
For providing better and safe environment along
with occupational health and safety to workers
at the work place, 13 existing Labour Laws have
been subsumed in the Occupational, Safety,
Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.
In this Code, the security of interests of workers
engaged in factories, mines, plantations, motor
transport sector, bidi and cigar workers, contract
and migrant workers has been ensured.

OSH Code (Occupational, Safety, Health and

Working Conditions Code) - 2020
• Various provisions in the OSH Code will ease
the lives of the Inter-State Migrant Workers.
• Anomalies of the Inter-State Migrant Workers
Act, 1979 have been comprehensively

15 New Labour Code For New India

 addressed in the OSH Code. Earlier only workers
appointed by a contractor were recognized as
Inter-State Migrant Workers. However, under
the new provisions of the Code, workers can
be Aatmanirbhar as they can now register
themselves as Inter-State Migrant Workers
on the national portal. By this provision,
the worker would get a legal identity which
would enable them to get benefits of all social
security schemes.
• A provision has been made for employers to
provide travelling allowance annually to an
Inter-State Migrant Worker for undertaking a
to-and-fro journey to his native place.
• Providing of appointment letters to the
workers has been made mandatory.
• Mandatory, free annual health check-up of the
workers to be provided by the employers.
• For a worker engaged in building and other
construction work in one State and moving to
another State, benefit from the Building and
other Construction Workers’ Cess fund will be
provided.
• Under the “One Nation - One Ration Card”, an
New Labour Code For New India 16
 Inter-State Migrant Worker would get ration
facility in the State he is working in and the
remaining members of his family would be
able to avail of the ration facility in the State
where they reside.
• Mandatory helpline facility in every State for
resolution of Inter-State Migrant Workers’
grievances.
• National database to be created for the Inter-
State Migrant Workers.
• Instead of 240 days, now if a worker has worked
180 days, he shall be entitled for one-day leave
for every 20 days of work done.
• Women empowerment through the Labour
Codes
• Right to women workers to work in all types of
establishments.
• Women have been given the right to work
at night with their consent and it has also
been ensured that the employer would make
adequate arrangements to provide safety and
facilities to women workers at night.

17 New Labour Code For New India

• Maternity Benefit Act was amended in 2017 to
increase the paid Maternity leave for women
workers from 12 to 26 weeks and ensure
mandatory crèche facility in all establishments
having 50 or more workers.

New Labour Codes will ensure

Minimum Wages and Social Security
to 50 crore workers engaged in
unorganized & organized Sector
and self employed.
(New Labour Code for New India)

New Labour Code For New India 18

 Chapter 8

Towards end to
disputes
By amalgamating 3 Labour Laws into the
Industrial Relations Code the Central Government
has taken steps for safeguarding the interests of
Trade Unions as well as the workers. In this Code,
all possible steps have been taken for industrial
units and workers so that disputes do not arise
in future

Industrial Relations (IR) Code, 2020

• In case of job loss, a worker will get benefit
under the Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojna.
• Under the Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojna, a
worker of organized sector who loses his job
gets financial aid from the Government. This
is a type of unemployment allowance, the
benefit of which is admissible to the workers
covered under the ESI Scheme.
• At the time of retrenchment a worker would

19 New Labour Code For New India

 be provided 15 days’ wages for re-skilling. The
wages would be credited directly into the bank
account of the worker so as to enable him to
learn new skills.
• Faster justice to the workers through the
Tribunal.
• Workers disputes to be resolved within a year
in the Tribunal.
• Industrial Tribunals to have 2 members to
facilitate faster disposal of cases.
• In industrial establishments, a Trade Union
having 51 per cent votes shall be recognised as
the sole negotiating union which can make
agreements with employers.
• In industrial establishments in which no trade
union gets 51 per cent votes, a negotiating
council of trade unions shall be constituted for
making agreements with employer.

New Labour Code For New India 20