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India’s Labour Code Reforms: States & UTs to Finalize Draft Rules by March 2025

The Labour Ministry announced that all 36 states and Union territories are on track to complete the harmonization and pre-publication of draft rules under the four labour codes by March 31, 2025. These codes — Code on Wages, Code on Social Security, Code on Industrial Relations, and Code on Occupational Health & Safety — aim to streamline 44 existing labour laws to improve trade, investment, workers’ welfare, and ease of doing business.

So far, 31 states and UTs have pre-published their draft rules, setting the stage for the nationwide implementation of these transformative reforms. Six regional meetings between August and October helped facilitate the framing of rules, ensuring alignment with central regulations. As labour laws fall under the concurrent list of the Constitution, both the Centre and states have rule-making powers, with central laws taking precedence unless a state law gains presidential assent.

Additionally, the ministry is collaborating with the International Labour Organization and other stakeholders to develop a social security framework tailored for gig and platform workers under the Social Security Code, 2020. The initiative includes consultations with aggregators, platform worker organizations, and state/UT representatives to ensure comprehensive coverage for this workforce.

The labour codes aim to simplify compliance, decriminalize minor offences, and promote skill development while safeguarding workers' rights and welfare. This harmonization marks a significant step toward rolling out uniform labour reforms across India.

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