Labour Code Notification Central Government Leaves Workers Helpless

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi-led government over the notification of four labour codes, alleging that the Centre deliberately waited for the conclusion of assembly elections to push through with the reforms that he termed as "anti-worker".
In a statement, Kharge accused the government of trampling workers' rights and claimed that the new labour framework would weaken job security and trade union protections for millions of workers across the country. The Congress president said that in its characteristic cowardly manner, the Modi government waited for the conclusion of assembly elections before notifying the four anti-worker labour codes through a gazette notification on May 8 and 9, 2026.
He alleged that the labour codes would pave the way for "hire and fire policies, contract employment, and limited space for unionisation" that would severely affect millions of workers in both the organised and unorganised sectors. Kharge further claimed that the Centre has implemented labour reforms without proper consultation with workers' representatives and trade unions.
He said it was essential to note that the Modi government drafted and implemented these anti-worker codes without any consultation. It has not called the Indian Labour Conference since 2015. The Congress leader also accused the BJP-led government of supporting industrialists at the cost of labour welfare. He alleged that these codes, which only benefit the prime minister's industrialist friends, are the biggest blow to workers' rights since independence.
Reiterating the Congress party's commitments regarding labour welfare, Kharge said that the party is committed to its "Shram Naiaye" agenda that aims to strengthen social and economic protections for workers. Listing out the party's proposals, he said that the Congress supports the restoration and expansion of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to urban areas, a national minimum wage of Rs 400 per day including for MGNREGA workers, and a Right to Health law that provides universal health coverage of up to Rs 25 lakh.
He also promised comprehensive social security measures for unorganised workers, including life and accident insurance, and vowed to stop contract recruitments in core government jobs while reviewing the Modi government's process of diluting labour laws. The four labour codes, which subsume 29 central laws and cover wages, industrial relations, occupational safety, and social security, were passed by Parliament between 2019 and 2020 with the stated aim of simplifying and modernising India's labour laws. However, opposition parties and several trade unions have been consistently opposing the reforms, saying they weaken worker protections and eliminate rights to collective bargaining.