Labour Codes: Kerala govt. to finalise decision in consultation with trade unions

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said on Wednesday that a decision will be finalised on implementing the Labour Codes in Kerala in consultation with the trade unions in the State. At a post-Cabinet press briefing here, Mr. Satheesan said the decision is meant to address the “uncertainty” created by the replacement of the earlier laws and the non-implementation of the new law passed by the Parliament. “Now there is no labour law in effect in the State. The talks with the trade unions will look at how the anti-worker provisions in the codes can be addressed,” he said.

The Chief Minister added that the objections were to “three or four important points” and not to the Codes in their entirety. While it is easy to say that the Labour Codes will not be implemented, it will also prove difficult to protect labour rights in the absence of a law. All States except Kerala have implemented the Codes, Mr. Satheesan said. The Congress party also had opposed the enactment of the Codes in Parliament, he further said.

Speaking in the Kerala Assembly in June, Minister for Labour Bindhu Krishna had said that the State government had not yet finalised its position on framing rules under the Labour Codes. The government would first undertake a detailed examination of the recommendations submitted by the expert committee headed by the former Supreme Court judge V. Gopala Gowda, she had said. This panel had been constituted by the previous LDF government.