Supreme Court Justice Manmohan has stressed that India’s new labour laws must be implemented with fairness, equity and clarity to address modern workforce realities, while balancing ease of doing business with worker welfare and social security.
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NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Justice Manmohan on Thursday welcomed the introduction of India’s new labour laws, emphasising that their success depends on implementation rooted in fairness, equity, and institutional preparedness. He said the newly introduced labour codes represent the future of India’s workforce and must be enforced in both letter and spirit.
Justice Manmohan was speaking at “Decoding the Codes – Conference on Four Labour Codes,” a one-day national conference jointly organised by the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
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Highlighting the need for reform, Justice Manmohan said India’s older labour laws, some dating back nearly a century, were no longer suited to modern employment realities.
“The hundred-year-old laws have served their time. They belong to history. These new codes belong to our future,”
he said.
He noted that many legacy statutes, including those enacted in 1926 and 1936, failed to address emerging forms of work such as digital platforms, gig employment, and fixed-term contracts.
The Union government notified the four labour codes on November 21, consolidating and rationalising 29 existing Central labour laws. These include:
- Code on Wages, 2019
- Industrial Relations Code, 2020
- Code on Social Security, 2020
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020
According to Justice Manmohan, the consolidation aims to strike a balance between ease of doing business and worker welfare.
Justice Manmohan underlined the importance of expanding labour protections, particularly for India’s vast unorganised workforce.
“With an estimated workforce of nearly 50 crore people, of whom close to 90 per cent are engaged in the unorganised sector, it was imperative to modernise and rationalise the labour law framework,”
he said.
The new labour reforms significantly expand minimum wage coverage and social security benefits to unorganised, gig, platform, and fixed-term workers, addressing long-standing gaps in protection.
Justice Manmohan noted that the new labour codes aim to simplify compliance through:
- A single registration, licence, and return system
- Increased operational flexibility for employers
- Higher thresholds for prior government approval in cases of layoffs and retrenchment
These measures, he said, are designed to encourage economic growth while safeguarding worker rights.
The reforms also introduce several worker-centric provisions, including:
- Expanded rights and safety measures for women workers, including night shifts
- Free annual health check-ups for workers above the age of 40
- Pan-India ESIC coverage, including for hazardous process units
Justice Manmohan stressed that while the reforms are comprehensive, their real impact will depend on coordinated and effective implementation by state governments.
“The true test of these reforms will lie in their effective and coordinated implementation,”
he said, adding that clarity and consistency are essential for successful labour law reform.
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