Overview
- Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha cleared the measure by voice vote on February 12 after its introduction a day earlier via a supplementary agenda.
- The amendment affirms that three earlier statutes—the Trade Unions Act, 1926; Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946; and Industrial Disputes Act, 1947—stand repealed by operation of Section 104 of the 2020 Code, not by executive action.
- The government says the change codifies legal continuity and preempts litigation, citing a February 2026 notification that reiterates the automatic repeal under the Code.
- Opposition parties labeled the move anti-labour and backed union protests, as a nationwide strike drew a mixed response with localised disruptions in several states.
- Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya defended the broader labour codes as guaranteeing minimum wages, appointment letters, equal pay for equal work and earlier gratuity eligibility.