Labour laws

Indian Economy glossary

Topic: Employment, Unemployment and Informalisation · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Employment: Growth, Informalisation and Other Issues"

Meaning

Labour laws regulate workers' wages, working conditions, industrial relations, safety and social security. Industrial relations means dealings between employers, workers and unions. Labour is on the Concurrent List of the Constitution (entries 22-24), so both the Centre and the states can make these laws. India merged 29 central laws into four codes, all in force from 21 November 2025:

  • the Code on Wages, 2019;
  • the Industrial Relations Code, 2020;
  • the Code on Social Security, 2020;
  • the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.

These laws mainly protect a small regular workforce. Informal workers remain weakly covered.

Example

Kanta works in an organised firm. She gets provident fund, paid leave and job security under labour law. Kamal works in the unorganised sector and can be dismissed at any time without compensation.

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