Labour Day 2025: Key Labour Laws Every Indian Worker Should Know

Introduction

Labour Day is a time to recognize the contribution of workers across the country, and it is also a good moment to take stock of the rules that shape working life in India. Whether you work in a factory, an office, on contract, or in the informal sector, knowing your rights can protect your pay, your safety, and your future.

This article breaks down the most important labour laws and codes that Indian workers should be aware of in 2025, explains what they mean in practice, and offers a short checklist to help you act if something goes wrong.

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Why Labour Day Matters Beyond the Celebration

Labour Day celebrates workers, but it should also prompt practical reflection. Laws are what convert broad ideas about fairness into concrete protections.

Over the last few years, India has consolidated many older acts into a set of labour codes, with the goal of simplifying compliance and extending protections to more workers.

For workers and managers alike, understanding these changes helps avoid disputes, ensures lawful pay and safer workplaces, and clarifies entitlements like social security and paid leave.

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The Big Picture: The Four Labour Codes You Need to Know

Instead of dozens of separate acts, central legislation now groups key rules into four modern codes. Each code covers a different area of workplace rights and responsibilities.

1. Code on Wages

The Code on Wages standardizes how wages are defined and paid, and it strengthens rules on minimum wages and equal pay for equal work. It requires employers to ensure that workers receive at least the prescribed minimum wage and clarifies how wages, bonuses, and overtime are calculated.

For salaried and hourly workers, the code seeks to bring consistency in what counts as pay and what can be excluded.

2. Industrial Relations Code

This code addresses unions, dispute resolution, and rules around strikes, lockouts, layoffs, and retrenchment. It aims to streamline dispute settlement mechanisms and set clearer procedures for large-scale layoffs, while also updating how trade unions register and operate.

3. Code on Social Security

The Social Security Code aims to expand social protection across both organized and unorganized sectors. It consolidates multiple existing laws governing provident funds, employee state insurance, gratuity, and welfare schemes, and creates a framework to extend benefits to gig and platform workers through state-run schemes and contributions.

4. Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code

This code focuses on workplace safety, health, and welfare. It updates obligations of employers to provide safer workplaces, regular health checks where required, limits on hazardous exposures, and clear procedures for reporting and managing accidents and hazards.

It also expands coverage to a wider range of establishments and sectors.

These four codes together are intended to simplify and modernize labour law, but state rules and notifications still matter, especially for minimum wages and sectoral safety norms.

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Minimum Wages, Floor Wages, and Who Decides Them

Minimum wages continue to be set by central or state government notifications. The wage codes introduced the concept of a national floor or baseline, but actual rates vary by state, region, and category of worker.

This means two workers doing similar jobs in different states may legally receive different minimum pay, depending on the applicable notification.

For workers, the takeaway is to check the minimum wage notification that applies to your district, industry, or job classification. Central advisory bodies and state minimum wage boards publish these notifications periodically.

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Social Security and the Changing Workforce

A key goal of the Social Security Code is to widen access to welfare benefits for informal, gig, and platform workers. The code provides a mechanism for state-level schemes and also envisages contributions from aggregators or employers where applicable.

If you work as a delivery rider, freelance professional, or on short-term gig contracts, registering on government portals such as e-Shram can help you access scheme benefits and government welfare programs.

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Safety at Work and Employer Obligations

Workplace safety is not optional. Employers must identify, evaluate, and control hazards, provide protective equipment where necessary, and report major accidents.

The OSH code expanded the list of establishments covered, so even many smaller enterprises now have clear compliance obligations around safety committees, medical check-ups, and training.

If your workplace lacks basic protective measures or ignores repeated safety complaints, you can raise the issue with the appropriate state inspector or labour department.

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Dispute Resolution, Layoffs, and Contributions

The Industrial Relations Code sets out the steps employers must follow for layoffs and retrenchments, and creates timelines and forums for dispute resolution.

For larger layoffs, certain procedures must be followed and, depending on the size of the employer, prior government permission may be required.

If you face a sudden termination, contact the local labour office or a recognized union to understand whether your employer complied with the correct procedure.

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What to Do If Your Rights Are Violated

Practical Steps for Workers Who Suspect Violations

Document Everything

Keep payslips, appointment letters, termination notices, timesheets, photos of unsafe conditions, and any written complaints you raise.

Check the Applicable Notification

Confirm which minimum wage, safety standard, or scheme is applicable in your state or sector.

Raise the Issue Internally First

Send a written complaint to HR or the employer, and keep a copy. This creates a paper trail.

Reach Out Externally

If internal steps fail, contact the local labour inspector, the state labour department, or a recognized trade union. Many states have grievance portals and helplines.

Consider Legal Help

For wrongful dismissal or unpaid wages, legal remedies include labour courts, industrial tribunals, and civil courts, depending on the issue. For many wage and safety grievances, labour departments mediate and enforce compliance.

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Common Myths Clarified

Myth: Contractors Have No Protection

Contract and gig workers do have protections under certain codes and schemes. The Social Security Code and related state notifications aim to cover many such workers, and minimum wage rules apply where work and payment patterns meet statutory definitions.

Myth: Labour Codes Mean Fewer Rights

The codes consolidate many laws and introduce uniform processes. Some employers and unions have criticized aspects of the reform, and implementation varies by state. That makes it important for workers to know both central codes and state rules that affect them.

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Quick Checklist for Every Worker This Labour Day

• Do you get regular payslips showing gross pay, deductions, and net pay?
• Is your pay at or above the notified minimum wage for your category and location?
• Does your employer provide safety gear and training for hazardous tasks?
• Are you enrolled in relevant social security schemes, or registered on e-Shram if you are in the unorganized sector?
• Do you have written terms for leave, working hours, and notice periods?

If the answer to any of these is no, gather documentary proof and seek advice from your state labour office or a union representative.

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Final Note

Labour Day is the right moment to celebrate achievements, but also to update your personal checklist. Labour laws in India have been reorganized to be clearer, but change takes time, and state-level notifications remain important.

Knowing which law applies to you, where to find the applicable wage and safety notifications, and how to document a complaint will make you far better protected at work.