As
the Ministry of Labour and Employment is gearing up to complete the process of finalising
the four new labour codes being introduced by the Centre to revise the work
place mechanism prevalent in the country, the new codes are expected to give
flexibility to corporations to reduce the working days to four instead of five
or six. But, there is also a chance of increasing the per day working
hours to upto 12 hours, a proposal many trade unions are objecting to.

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Since the government is considering the objections raised to 12-hour daily work
shift and three days of paid leaves as per Labour and Employment Secretary
Apurva Chandra, it is imperative to understand what these new codes are and how
will it benefit an employee.

What
is the new proposal on labour codes?

The
new labour codes propose to offer companies with the flexibility to reduce
working days to four. Most of the corporations presently follow a five-six
working day pattern.

However,
the key takeaway here is that the working day reduction will be given on the
condition that the working hours limit of 48 hours per week will remain
“sacrosanct”.

This
implies that if working days are reduced then it will automatically lead to
increased hour of shifts resulting in daily shifts of 12 hours.

Will the three-day off be paid?

Yes, the new proposal gives corporation a free hand to reduce working days while subsequently increasing per day working hours to up to 12 hours but it does not mean that one or two extra leave amounts to an unpaid gap.

“If companies bring working days below five like if it is four, then you have to provide three paid holidays…so if it has to be a seven day week, then it has to be divided into 4, 5 or 6 working days,” Chandra said.

What are the additional benefits provided by the new labour codes?

According to Chandra, with the introduction of new labour codes the Centre is also proposing to provide free medical check-ups to workers through the Employees State Insurance Corporation, all type workers in India will get a minimum wage (probably for the first time). Certain new schemes are being introduced for migrant workers. All employees will be covered under Employ State Insurance (ESI).

Chandra added that that the implementation of codes on wages, industrial relations, occupational safety, health and working conditions and social security will ensure social security to all employees.

When will the new codes roll out?

As per Labour and Employment Secretary, the ministry is in the final stage of integrating all the  44 central labour laws into four key codes and is expecting to implement these on April 1 this year.