New Labour Codes to transform workers’ welfare in J&K: Chief Secretary

Srinagar, Aug 13: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo chaired a meeting to review the employee-centric financial and social security benefits emerging from the implementation of the Four New Labour Codes for the workforce in the private sector in Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Finance; Commissioner Secretary, Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs; Secretary, Labour & Employment; Director General, Codes; Labour Commissioner and other concerned senior officers.
The meeting undertook a detailed assessment of how the new labour law framework would strengthen wage protection, social security, retirement benefits and financial entitlements of employees, besides simplifying compliance for employers.
The Labour & Employment Department made a comprehensive presentation on the Code on Wages, 2019; Industrial Relations Code, 2020; Code on Social Security, 2020; and Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions Code, 2020, which together consolidate 29 erstwhile labour laws into a unified framework.
The Chief Secretary stressed that the new framework should be viewed not merely as a compliance exercise but as an important step towards creating a more equitable, transparent and financially secure employment ecosystem for workers in J&K.
He observed that such provisions would provide greater financial security to employees working under fixed-term arrangements and strengthen the principle of parity in statutory benefits.
He directed the Labour & Employment Department and other concerned departments to ensure that the implementation framework adequately communicates the financial and social security benefits available to employees, while creating necessary awareness among employers and workers.
The Chief Secretary emphasised the importance of ensuring that the evolving nature of employment is adequately reflected in the implementation framework so that workers outside traditional permanent employment arrangements are not left outside the ambit of social security.
On this occasion the Secretary, Labour & Employment, Kumar Rajeev Ranjan apprised the meeting that one of the significant reforms under the new framework is the move towards universal wage protection, with minimum wage provisions extended across employments, replacing the earlier scheduled-employment approach.
The Codes also provide for a National Floor Wage framework, ensuring that minimum wages fixed by States/UTs cannot fall below the applicable national floor wage.
The presentation highlighted the employer’s EPF contribution at 12 per cent of wages, subject to the applicable statutory wage ceiling, thereby strengthening the employee’s accumulated retirement savings. The ESI framework provides for an employer contribution of 3.25 per cent of gross wages for eligible employees within the prescribed wage ceiling, in addition to the employee contribution prescribed under law.
Under the framework presented by the Department, fixed-term employees become entitled to pro-rata gratuity after one year of continuous service, calculated at the applicable rate of 15 days’ wages for every completed year of service, subject to the statutory provisions and prescribed ceiling.
It was highlighted that the new framework provides, for the first time, dedicated provisions for social security for gig and platform workers, alongside a broader institutional architecture for unorganised workers and building workers.
Moreover the fixed-term employees are going to receive greater protection under this new laws. The law now recognises fixed-term employees as a formal category. Under this framework, fixed-term employees are to receive statutory benefits at par with permanent employees for the period of their employment, including the applicable gratuity benefit after one year as prescribed.
This is expected to bring greater financial certainty and formalisation to employment arrangements in the private sector while providing employees with clearer statutory rights and benefits.
The Four Labour Codes also envisage a simplified and technology-driven compliance ecosystem, including single registration, single licence and unified annual returns, along with mandatory appointment letters for employees.
The meeting was informed that the reforms have implications across a wide spectrum of employment arrangements, including contractual and fixed-term employment, unorganised workers and emerging categories such as gig and platform workers.
The meeting concluded with emphasis on ensuring that the Four Labour Codes translate into a stronger social security net, better wage protection, enhanced financial security and greater formalisation of employment for workers in the private sector across Jammu and Kashmir, while maintaining a simplified and transparent compliance environment for employers.