New Labour Codes Are a Corporate Gift, Not Reform
The Social Democratic Party of India strongly condemns the Central Government’s enforcement of the four new Labour Codes on November 21, 2025, calling it a blatant assault on the rights of millions of Indian workers. This move, disguised as reform, is nothing more than a corporate giveaway that dismantles hard won protections and deepens exploitation. As National General Secretary, I speak for the toiling masses whose voices were deliberately excluded from this undemocratic process.
First, the rollout reflects a shocking disregard for democratic norms. Despite years of agitation by trade unions and workers’ organisations, there was no meaningful consultation. Rules remain half baked, with states scrambling to notify them amid confusion. This hasty bulldozing prioritises corporate lobbies over human dignity, mirroring colonial era contempt for labour.
Second, the codes usher in a hire and fire regime that threatens job security across sectors. The Industrial Relations Code raises the layoff threshold to 300 workers, enabling large firms to terminate employees without government approval or worker recourse. Fixed term contracts with pro rata benefits mask rampant casualisation, while mandatory strike notices of 14 days weaken collective bargaining. This will create a “jungle raj” where workers function as disposable cogs with no protection against mass terminations.
Third, wage justice remains a cruel mirage. The Code on Wages touts a national floor wage of just 176 per day, far below the 400 daily minimum demanded by workers battling inflation. Broader wage definitions for provident fund and gratuity calculations will reduce take home pay by 10 to 15 percent, as employers divert money from salaries to long term funds. Promises of gender pay equity remain hollow without enforcement, perpetuating discrimination in a workforce where women already earn 20 percent less.
Fourth, social security continues to be an empty promise. The Code on Social Security nominally includes gig workers through aggregators’ meagre 1 to 2 percent contributions but ignores universal health coverage and a necessary 25 lakh insurance safety net. Provisions on maternity benefits and crèches appear progressive on paper, yet MSMEs, already burdened by compliance costs, will evade them. As a result, the informal sector, which employs nearly 90 percent of India’s workforce, remains unprotected. Migrant workers’ so called portable benefits via Aadhaar remain a technological illusion without robust systems.
Finally, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code normalises overwork through 12 hour shifts and night work for women without ironclad safeguards. Annual medical check ups and safety committees exist only in theory and, without real enforcement, risk paving the way for disasters reminiscent of Bhopal.
This is not reform; it is regression, designed to favour the Prime Minister’s corporate allies while 500 million workers bear the burden. The Social Democratic Party of India demands the immediate withdrawal of these anti worker codes, a 400 national wage floor, an urban employment guarantee, and genuine tripartite consultations. We stand firmly with trade unions in the nationwide protests.
Mohammad Elyas Thumbe
National General Secretary
Social Democratic Party of India