Labour Reforms

Earlier, safety regulations in this sector relied mainly on the Factories Act, 1948, which provided a limited, factory-centric approach to hazardous industries

The new codes, consolidating 29 laws, promise enhanced social security for gig workers and women, amid data showing rising wages but high wealth inequality

Reforms modernise a tangled legal regime and open new opportunities, yet overtime rules, size controls and paternalistic mandates still limit true choice for workers

India's overhaul merges 29 labour laws into four codes, reshaping minimum wages, gig-worker social security, industrial relations, and workplace safety through unified rules and digital compliance

From national floor wages to fixed-term employment, the reforms introduce long-awaited changes, but uniform state-level adoption is key to avoiding fresh complexity

While the new rules offer social security and minimum-wage benefits, they also allow companies to hire and fire workers more easily

Eternal Ltd on Saturday welcomed the implementation of the four labour codes, which it said will help strengthen the social security access for gig workers, including for it Zomato and Blinkit businesses. In a regulatory filing, Eternal, the parent entity of Zomato and Blinkit said it does not think the financial impact on account of these rules will be detrimental to long-term health and sustainability of its business. The government on Friday notified the four labour codes, which have rationalised 29 existing labour laws. These will formalise employment, strengthen worker protection, and make the labour ecosystem simpler, safer and globally aligned. The four labour codes are -- the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. Under the new codes, 'gig work', 'platform work', and 'aggregators' have been defined for the first time. The codes stipulate that aggregat

The industry body said the Codes will bring clearer terms, stronger protections and uniform benefits for contract, gig and platform workers

The jobless rate in rural areas fell to 4.4 per cent from 4.6 per cent during this period

Over 18 million workers were employed in Saudi Arabia in the second quarter of 2025 (Q2 CY2025). Out of these, nearly 77.5 per cent were foreign workers

If we implement with speed, transparency and collaboration, the Codes can anchor India's next growth chapter

Behind the boom lies a fragile core: informality and poor pay still define India's largest employer, says a NITI Aayog report

To harness this shift, the Shram Shakti Niti draft outlines a series of interventions to bridge the divide between skill and opportunity

From low workers' wages to suspect GDP to scary rankings for pilot training schools to self-serving protectionism, today's pieces paint a sobering picture of what ails India economy and policy

Move seen significant as existing data fails to capture digital work's nature

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday bypassed legislative opposition and signed a decree summoning voters to the polls in August to decide changes to the country's labour laws, including whether work days should be limited to eight hours. The decree fulfilled Petro's threat to Congress to put his labour system overhaul before voters should senators not approve the 12-question referendum themselves. He issued the measure in a tense political climate following the Saturday shooting of opposition senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay during a public event. The referendum has become the crux of long-running tensions between the executive and legislative branches. After Congress rejected Petro's labour reform twice, most recently in March, he sent lawmakers a 12-question referendum proposal on May 1 as Colombian law requires that the Senate rule on the advisability of referendums. The legislative body two weeks later voted 49-47 against the measure, prompting .

The TDP-led NDA government in Andhra Pradesh has decided to raise the maximum working hours from nine to 10 per day as part of ease of doing business and attracting investors. The Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Minister K Parthasarathy said that it has been decided to amend labour laws to make them 'favourable' to workers and investors. CPI state secretary K Ramakrishna criticised the move and said NDA governments at the Centre and state are pursuing 'anti worker' policies. "Section 54 which allows maximum nine hours of work a day has now been raised to 10 hours per day. Under Section 55 there used to be one hour rest for five hours (work) now that has been changed to six hours," said Parthasarathy recently, elaborating on the decisions made by the cabinet to amend labour laws. Earlier, Parthasarathy noted that overtime was allowed only up to 75 hours which now has been extended up to 144 hours per quarter. "Because of this (amendments to labour laws), investors in ...

Lawmakers in Colombia on Wednesday once again blocked President Gustavo Petro's efforts to overhaul the country's labour laws, this time by rejecting a referendum that would have asked voters whether workdays should be limited to eight hours and whether workers should receive double pay if they work during holidays. Petro asked Congress earlier this month to approve the 12-question referendum to give voters a chance to decide on the changes that lawmakers themselves had already rejected twice. He had warned lawmakers against blocking the referendum, saying before thousands of people gathered for a Labour Day demonstration on May 1 that if they did not approve it, Colombians would punish them at the polls during the 2026 legislative elections. After an intense debate Wednesday, 49 senators voted against the measure and 47 in favour. Petro, Colombia's first leftist president, characterised the vote as fraudulent. He has repeatedly accused lawmakers of blocking his social initiatives a

International Labour Day, referred to as 'May Day', is observed globally on May 1st every year. This day honours the hardworking workers who have moulded economies and civilisations worldwide

The social protection framework also remains limited in its reach. As of 2022, less than half (48.8 per cent) of the population was covered by at least one form of social protection