Industrial Relations Code, 2020: The Dawn of the Reformation

Shruti Tyagi and Tanya Babbar
UPES School of Law Dehradun, India.

Volume III, Issue V, 2020

India is a country with huge population and the need to earn livelihood is of paramount importance to cater the essential needs of the family. Amidst the pandemic and otherwise also, several instances have been reported of unfair trade practices that encroaches the right of the employers, employees and the workers. In order to curb these unfair practices, the Indian government has made constant efforts to implement major legislative reforms. One of the recent and major labour law reform involves consolidation of three critical industrial relation legislation into one: The Industrial Relations Code, 2020. The main aim of the code is to strike a balance between the demands of the workforce and providing freedom of business to the employers to conduct their business efficiently. The legislation is an attempt on the part of the Central government to bestow benefits to the working population of both organized and unorganized sectors. With the current situation in the country, it is imperative to provide strong support to the employer to accelerate the business effectively and also safeguard the dignity of the labours. The manuscript analyses the significance of the code, various important provisions and the reaction of the general public to this legislative reform.

Keywords:  retrenchment, negotiating unions, re-skilling funds, strikes and lockouts, fixed term employment.