Examine how the consolidation of labour laws under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 seeks to balance ease of doing business with worker protections.

The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 — brought into force on 21 November 2025 as part of four labour codes rationalising 29 central laws [1] — merges the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Trade Unions Act, 1926 and the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946. Its architecture attempts a two-way bargain: flexibility for employers, collective security for workers. The bargain is real, but unevenly delivered.

Measures easing business compliance

• Single-window consolidation: three Acts, with overlapping definitions and filings, collapse into one code, reducing compliance layers [1].
• Raised thresholds: standing orders and prior government permission for lay-off, retrenchment and closure now apply at 300 workers, up from 100 [2].
• Fixed-term employment gains statutory recognition, allowing hiring for finite terms without contractor intermediaries [2].
• Strike discipline: a mandatory 14-day notice, valid 60 days, plus prohibition during conciliation, protects production continuity [2].

Provisions safeguarding workers

• Stronger bargaining: the sole negotiating union threshold falls from 75% to 51%, with a negotiating council of unions holding 20% membership otherwise [2].
• Parity for fixed-term staff in wages, hours and benefits, with pro-rata gratuity, curbing the historic wage gap with permanent workers [5].
• Formalisation push through appointment letters and digital registration, extending statutory identity to informal labour [5].

Where the balance tilts

• Fixed-term contracts carry no limit on work type, duration or renewals, permitting permanent posts to be converted [3].
• Extended prohibition periods can render strikes practically impossible in all establishments, though the Standing Committee advised confining such curbs to public utilities [3].
• Key terms — "manager", "supervisor", "contractor" — remain undefined, and Section 2(p)'s exclusions are untested; the nine-judge Bench (August 2026) on the definition of "industry" expressly left the Code's definition to future litigation, drawing union criticism [4].

The Code thus front-loads employer flexibility while leaving several worker safeguards contingent on rules and courts. Closing definitional gaps, capping fixed-term renewals and time-bound tribunal disposal would let the Code serve both competitiveness and the Article 43 vision of decent work.