New Delhi:
The labour ministry has moved a cabinet note seeking approval to merge the 44 existing labour laws into one act, sources told NDTV. The new law will be applicable to all establishments in the organised or unorganised sectors and will ensure minimum wages to all workers.
The push to merge and streamline labour laws comes in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise to simplify them. Last October, the Prime Minister had announced labour reforms with an eye to turning India into a manufacturing hub. A number of schemes were announced to simplify employment rules and smooth the way for people to move social security funds when they change jobs.
But the new law - which is expected to be the centerpiece of the reforms -- will replace the existing Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Wages Act, Payment of Bonus Act and Equal Remuneration Act, among others, sources said.
Under it, the fixation and revision of minimum wages will now be left to states -- earlier it could have been done both the Centre and the states. The states will also be empowered to multiply the minimum wages depending on how difficult the task is.
In a path-breaking move, the new law is expected to bring transgenders into the official labour force, creating a new category for them.
It will also include provisions to punish errant employers - including a fine of Rs 50,000 to 1 lakh for employers who fail to pay minimum wages. A fine of Rs 10,000 will be imposed on employers who fail to keep records.
In a bid to root out the onerous inspector raj -- or rule of inspectors, which has deluged employers with paperwork and riddled the system with corruption, the word inspector will be changed to facilitator.
According to the World Bank, India has one of the world's most rigid labour markets, but fears of a trade union backlash and partisan politics have deterred successive governments from reform measures. The industry leaders have hopes that PM Modi -- an advocate of smaller government and private enterprise -- will change that.
The push to merge and streamline labour laws comes in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise to simplify them. Last October, the Prime Minister had announced labour reforms with an eye to turning India into a manufacturing hub. A number of schemes were announced to simplify employment rules and smooth the way for people to move social security funds when they change jobs.
But the new law - which is expected to be the centerpiece of the reforms -- will replace the existing Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Wages Act, Payment of Bonus Act and Equal Remuneration Act, among others, sources said.
Under it, the fixation and revision of minimum wages will now be left to states -- earlier it could have been done both the Centre and the states. The states will also be empowered to multiply the minimum wages depending on how difficult the task is.
In a path-breaking move, the new law is expected to bring transgenders into the official labour force, creating a new category for them.
It will also include provisions to punish errant employers - including a fine of Rs 50,000 to 1 lakh for employers who fail to pay minimum wages. A fine of Rs 10,000 will be imposed on employers who fail to keep records.
In a bid to root out the onerous inspector raj -- or rule of inspectors, which has deluged employers with paperwork and riddled the system with corruption, the word inspector will be changed to facilitator.
According to the World Bank, India has one of the world's most rigid labour markets, but fears of a trade union backlash and partisan politics have deterred successive governments from reform measures. The industry leaders have hopes that PM Modi -- an advocate of smaller government and private enterprise -- will change that.
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