NEW DELHI: The government has proposed streamlining multiple labour laws into a set of four codes to ensure that filing of returns and registrations is standardised, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the Budget in Parliament on Friday.
“This will ensure that process of registration and filing of returns will get standardised and streamlined. With various labour-related definitions getting standardised, it is expected that there shall be less disputes,” Sitharaman said in her budget speech in Parliament.
The budget allocated Rs 4,500 crore for EPFO, and Rs 4,583 crore for the employment generation programme. The Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan, a pet scheme of the NDA which aims to provide pension to small traders and vendors, has been given an allocation of C500 crore while the Pradhan Mantri Karam Yogi Maandhan has been given an outlay of Rs 750 crore.
The announcement comes close on the heels of the Economic Survey suggesting a well-formulated minimum wage and the Modi government in its second term hoping to push reforms right from the first Parliament session. Labour reforms are top on the NDA government’s agenda. The Centre has bracketed 44 labour laws into four major codes - wages, industrial safety and welfare, social security and industrial relations. It is also planning to give out social security benefits to the unorganized sector.
The government claims broad consensus among major labour unions as the proposed Bill is likely to include a national minimum wage for all kinds of employment. Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar told reporters after the Group of Ministers meeting, “We will bring new labour law Bill in upcoming session. All labour unions have been consulted on this.”