(The Gist of PIB) Parliament passes three Labour bills

(THE GIST OF PIB) Parliament passes three Labour bills

Parliament passed 3 bills namely Industrial Relations Code, 2020, Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and Social Security Code, 2020.
29 labour laws are being subsumed in the simplified, easy to understand and transparent 4 labour codes. Out of the 4 labour codes, Code on Wages has already been passed by Parliament.

It subsumes 9 Labour Acts like: Employees' Compensation Act, 1923, Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, etc.

Social security funds for unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers.
National Social Security Board for administering schemes for unorganised sector workers, gig workers and platform workers.
Extended definition of certain terms like definition of employees' to include workers employed through contractors, definition of inter-state migrant workers to include self-employed workers from another state etc.
A national database for unorganised sector workers would be created which helps in 'Targeted Delivery" of social security to unorganised sector workers.
Bill adds new clauses, like reduction in employer's/ employee contribution for PF etc, which may become applicable in the cases of an epidemic.

Labour Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions:

It subsumes 13 Labour Acts like: Factories Act, 1948, Plantation Labour Act, 1951, Mines Act, 1952 etc.

The Code sets up occupational safety boards at the national and state level to advise the central and state governments on the standards, rules, and regulations to be framed under the Code.
Welfare facilities, working conditions and work hours for different types of establishments and workers will be prescribed by the central or state governments through rules.
Women will be entitled to be employed in all establishments for all types of work.
Free health checkup once a year by the employer for workers, who are more than a certain age.

It subsumes 3 labour acts: Trade Union Act, 1926; Industrial Employment (Standing orders) Act, 1946; Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

An establishment having at least 300 workers (earlier 100) is required to seek prior permission of the government before closure, lay-off, or retrenchment.
If there is more than one registered trade union of workers functioning in an establishment, the trade union having more than 51% of the workers as members would be recognised as the sole negotiating union.
Any dispute in relation to discharge, dismissal, retrenchment, or otherwise termination of the services of an individual worker to be an industrial dispute. The worker may apply to the Industrial Tribunal for adjudication of the dispute.
Provision for Re-Skilling fund which aims to re-skill those workers who have been fired from their jobs.