Govt to release compliance handbook for new labour Codes: Labour secy

Gurnani said that both the Centre and state governments will help the labour inspectors understand their new role of inspector-cum-facilitator and provide them with training

The Centre is set to release a compliance handbook to help businesses comply with the four new labour codes, Labour Secretary Vandana Gurnani said on Friday.

 

Speaking at an event organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gurnani said the government will work with the industry for smooth implementation of the codes and better understanding of the new system of compliances.

 

“We are also working on a compliance handbook, which will tell what the simplified compliances now are. We will disseminate it physically as well as electronically,” Gurnani said.

 

The labour secretary further added that the government and the industry need to collaborate so they can together carry this message to the last mile where businesses also know what is now required from them.

 

Gurnani said both the Centre and state governments will help labour inspectors understand their new role of inspector-cum-facilitator and provide them with training. She stated that both the central and state labour commissioners organise forums and meetings regularly to give clarifications on any concerns that businesses may have.

 

“We would be happy to deploy our machinery so that they can explain what is in the codes. This effort of taking the message of the codes down should be a joint effort between the government and the industry,” she added.

 

Under the new codes, the inspector-cum-facilitator has to provide a 30-day notice to businesses before taking any action when an instance of non-compliance is found. The draft rules of the new codes, which will be up for a 45-day public consultation with stakeholders, are yet to be notified by the labour ministry.

 

The central government notified the four labour codes last month, five years after they were passed by Parliament, reforming and consolidating the 29 existing labour laws.

 

The four labour codes — the Code on Wages (2019), Industrial Relations Code (2020), Code on Social Security (2020), and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (2020) — are intended to modernise labour regulations, enhancing workers’ welfare and aligning the labour ecosystem with the evolving world of work.