India's contract labour laws are riddled with incentives for corruption

The aftermath of the pandemic is expected to lead to a drama­tic shift in the composition of India’s 470 million-strong wo­rkforce with companies relying more on contract workers to lower fixed costs.

But let’s face it: the law governing contract workers is the rotten apple in labour legislation and everyone became witness to it during the nationwide lockdown. The migrant workers’ crisis is also the tra­gedy of contract workers, who have been growing in numbers over the years. The share of contract workers in total organi­sed manufacturing sector employment jumped from 15.5 per cent in 2000-01 to 27.9 per cent