New Labor Codes: Between the assembly elections and the general elections to be held in 2024, the fate of the new labor codes seems to be hanging in the balance. April 2023 will be the last chance before the general elections to implement these 4 labor codes. The government has adopted the strategy of wait and watch.
New Delhi: 3 days a week leave, overtime and increased PF… When will the new labor codes be implemented? The wait for the implementation of the new labor law is increasing. Assembly elections are to be held in many states by the end of next year. After that general elections are to be held in the year 2024. In such a situation, the time required for the implementation of labor codes in front of the Government of India is decreasing rapidly. At least half a dozen experts have told the Economic Times. Implementation of these labor codes will be an important labor reform. The government does not want their condition to be the same as the agricultural laws. A top-level government official said on condition of anonymity that the government has adopted a wait and watch strategy as neither employers nor trade unions are keen on labor codes.
April 2023 is the last chance
The beginning of the next financial year is considered to be the opportune time to implement these codes. Because these codes will affect the salary structure. Experts said that April 2023 is the last chance for the country to implement labor codes before the general elections next year. The official told ET, “The government is apprehensive that these codes may backfire, as happened in the case of agricultural laws. Therefore, it has adopted the policy of wait and watch, till there is clear support of all the stakeholders.
May be implemented in a phased manner
The government had passed four labor codes in the years 2019 and 2020. Earlier it was being said that the government can implement these four new labor codes in a phased manner. The first wage code and social security code may be implemented. After this the remaining two codes can be implemented. One is the Industrial Relations Code and the other is on job-specific safety, health and workplace conditions (OSH). It is believed that the new labor codes are going to be of great benefit to the employees.
Prime Minister told the need of the hour
The government is in favor of providing better working environment to the employees. PM Modi had said in a program that work from home ecosystem, flexible work places and flexible working hours are the needs of the future. The PM said, “You are also seeing the way the nature of jobs is changing with the changing times. The world is changing rapidly and we also have to be prepared at the same pace to take advantage of it.”
These are the four labor codes
The four labor codes being implemented by the government include the Wage/Wage Code, the Code on Industrial Relations, the Code on Work-Special Safety, the Code on Health and Workplace Conditions (OSH) and the Social and Occupational Safety Code. Significantly, the Ministry of Labor has incorporated 44 types of old labor laws into four major codes to improve labor laws. It is believed that the implementation of these labor codes will greatly benefit the employees.
Off three days a week
After the implementation of the new labor codes, the working days of the employees will be reduced in the week. With the new rule, the working days of employees can be reduced from five to four in a week. That is, employees will get three days off in a week. But the daily working hours of the employees will increase. According to the rule, 48 hours work has to be done in a week. This means that one working day has to work for 12 hours.
Will also get overtime
As per the rules, an employee has to work 48 hours a week. According to four working days in a week, 12 hours of work will have to be done in a day. Now if an employee is made to work more than 12 hours in a week, then he will be given overtime. But employees cannot work more than 125 hours of overtime in 3 months. According to the new labor codes, no employee can be made to work for more than 5 consecutive hours. After working for 5 consecutive hours, the employee will have to give half an hour break.
More money will go to PF
With the new wage rule, there are going to be many changes in the CTC of the employee. Under the new wage rule, all allowances cannot exceed 50 per cent of the total salary. Due to this, the basic salary of the employee will increase. Currently, companies keep only 25-30 per cent of the CTC in the basic salary. In such a situation, all types of allowances range from 70 to 75 percent. Due to these allowances, more salary comes in the account of the employees, as all kinds of deductions are made on the basic salary. An increase in the basic salary will reduce the employee’s in hand salary or take home salary. But gratuity, pension and the contribution of both the employee and the company to the PF will increase. This means that the employee’s savings will increase.
