Labour Reforms or Retrenchment Risk? Congress Flags Longer Hours, Higher Approval Ceiling

A day after the Centre officially notified the four long-pending Labour Codes on November 21, 2025, the Congress launched a sharp attack on the Modi government, accusing it of merely “repackaging” 29 existing labor laws into four codes and marketing them as revolutionary reforms. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh argued that the new framework fails to address core worker demands and instead dilutes hard-won protections under the guise of ease of doing business.

In a strongly worded statement on X, Ramesh challenged the government to explain how the codes would deliver on long-standing Congress pledges such as a national minimum wage of ₹400 per day (including for MGNREGA workers), a Right to Health Act with universal coverage of ₹25 lakh, an urban employment guarantee scheme, comprehensive social security for all unorganized workers, and an end to contract labor in core government functions. He urged the Centre to learn from Congress-ruled Karnataka and the former Congress Government in Rajasthan, which introduced pioneering gig-worker welfare legislation.

Trade unions have reacted with outrage, highlighting several anti-worker provisions. The threshold for mandatory government approval for layoffs, retrenchment, and factory closures has been raised from 100 to 300 workers, effectively granting employers greater freedom to hire and fire. Maximum daily working hours in factories have been increased from 9 to 12, while shops and establishments can now demand up to 10 hours (previously 9), with unions warning that the 48-hour weekly cap may be routinely breached through coerced overtime.

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The four codes—the Code on Wages, the Industrial Relations Code, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, and the Code on Social Security—consolidate decades-old labor laws but have been criticized for ambiguous language that could lead to discretionary implementation by Central or State Governments. While industry bodies have welcomed the flexibility, workers’ organizations fear the reforms tilt the balance decisively in favor of employers, undermining job security and bargaining power at a time when informal employment already dominates the economy.

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