The Ministry of Labour and Employment notified Rules under the following codes: (i) Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020, (ii) Code on Social Security, 2020, (iii) Industrial Relations Code, 2020, and (iv) Code on Wages, 2019.
Key features of the Rules include:
▪ Occupational safety, health, and working conditions: The Rules provide that weekly working hours in any establishment must not exceed 48 hours. Women may be employed before 6 AM or beyond 7 PM, subject to specified conditions, including: (i) written consent of the employee, (ii) adequate transportation for pick-up and drop, and (iii) CCTV surveillance. Every employer of dock work, and building and other construction work must arrange a free medical examination for employees who have completed 40 years of age. The Rules also specify the manner of registration, maintenance of records, and constitution of required bodies such as safety committees.
▪ Social security: The Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 specify procedures for providing benefits such as insurance, provident fund, gratuity, and maternity benefits. They also specify the manner of constituting various bodies to administer social security schemes, including the Central Board, the National Social Security Board, and State Building Workers' Welfare Boards. Gig and platform workers are eligible for social security benefits if they meet a minimum engagement threshold: at least 90 days with a single aggregator, or at least 120 cumulative days across multiple aggregators, in the preceding financial year.
▪ Industrial relations: The Rules specify the manner of recognition of trade unions, constitution of bipartite bodies such as the Works Committee and the Grievance Redressal Committee, and the procedure for notice of lock-out or strike. An application must be made to the central government at least 15 days before a lay-off, 60 days before retrenchment, and 90 days before closure. The Rules also prescribe model standing orders for sectors such as mining, manufacturing, and services...
▪ Wages: The Rules on Wages provide for the following: (i) manner of calculating minimum wage on a daily basis, with the criteria to be separately specified by the central government through a special or general order, (ii) revision of variable dearness allowance twice a year, once before April 1 and then before October 1, based on the Average Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers, and (iii) fixing of the floor wage by the central government, with revision at intervals not exceeding five years.
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