India's New Labour Codes: How Women Gain Equal Pay and Workplace Rights

Earlier this month, the country witnessed a major shift in its labour regulation framework with the implementation of the four consolidated labour codes.

The four labour codes include the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.

The Codes modernise labour regulations and provide women with equality, maternity benefits, workplace safety, and representation in decision-making bodies.

Beyond safeguarding the rights of women workers, the reforms also expand opportunities by ensuring equal treatment and supporting their participation across all sectors, including night shifts and hazardous industries.

“Women constitute a vital and growing segment of India’s workforce, and the new labour codes mark a significant step towards creating a more inclusive, safe, and enabling work environment for them,” said the government in an official statement.

The key benefits extended to women span all four labour codes.

The Industrial Relations Code 2020 mandates adequate representation of women in the Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC), not less than their proportion in the total workforce of the establishment. It ensures women workers have a fair voice in workplace dispute resolution; women’s perspectives help address issues more comprehensively and sensitively.

Under the Code on Social Security, every woman employee who has worked for at least 80 days in the 12 months before the expected delivery is eligible for equal wages during the maternity leave period of 26 weeks.

In addition, a woman who adopts a child below 3 months of age or is a commissioning mother (a biological mother who uses surrogacy) is eligible for 12 weeks of maternity benefit from the date of adoption or when the child is handed over.

Notably, the law provides for work from home, nursing breaks for breastfeeding women, and creche facilities.

Further, the law has opened the gates for women workers to work in all establishments and do all types of work.

“They may also work at night, that is, before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m., with their consent, and the employer is required to make adequate arrangements for their safety, facilities, and transportation,” the statement said, supporting a “higher female participation in the workforce”.

The Code on Wages, 2019, also mandates employers not to discriminate on the grounds of gender in matters relating to recruitment, wages, or conditions of employment.

“Together, these measures strengthen women’s economic empowerment and contribute to a more resilient and gender-balanced labour ecosystem,” the statement said.

- IANS