The case for the new labour codes

The rollout of the four labour codes by the Union government is one of the most important market reforms in the history of the Indian economy. The net effect of the four new codes — they deal with wages, industrial relations, occupational safety and social security — is primarily threefold. It will simplify the existing framework, introduce a level of formalisation as far as terms of employment of workers are concerned, and offer greater flexibility to employers in dealing with their employees’ duration of work and even employment itself.

Some Indian states, which have had success with manufacturing, have already rolled out some of the key provisions in the labour codes (PTI)

It is mostly the last part, manifested in increased threshold for hire-and-fire, strike action, etc, which is the centrepiece of opposition to and apprehension of the codes by trade unions in the country. In an ideal world, one could reasonably argue that the move is pro-capital and anti-labour. However, the Indian economy, as it stands today, is far from ideal.