Overview
- The four consolidated codes replaced 29 laws on November 21, establishing a single framework for wages, industrial relations, social security and workplace safety.
- New guarantees include statutory floor wages, appointment letters, payslips, paid annual leave, double pay for overtime, annual health checks from age 40, pan-India ESIC coverage and fixed-term employment with gratuity eligibility after one year.
- The framework permits night shifts for women with consent and safety measures, with Hindustan Times citing a Reuters finding of a 13% rise in women’s employment in states that allowed it.
- The government and TUCC’s Sheo Prasad Tiwari welcomed the rollout, citing expanded social security coverage for roughly 40–44 crore workers and emphasizing worker dignity.
- Trade unions express concern over higher thresholds for firing and strike action, while states move to align procedures under single registration, licence and return rules and international bodies note India’s social security gains.