RIGHTS OF LABOUR IN INDIA

Abstract

In a labour-intensive country like India, where more than 90 percent of the 450 million-strong labour force work in the informal sector with low wages, no social security, no bonuses, and some are even deprived of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Indian constitution due to illiteracy and poverty even though such workforce is considered as the backbone of the economy. In India, workers' fundamental rights have traditionally been governed by a plethora of labour laws, many of which overlap and are regulated by a broad range of authorities. The approach has generally been that of compliance while placing little emphasis on the employers' duty to improve labour conditions for a significant portion of the workforce. In this paper, the details of the rights that workers in India enjoy under the "Indian Constitution" as well as the 27 laws passed by the central government that have now been optimized and codified into four labour codes that are universally applicable within the Indian borders are discussed. This study seeks to discover every improvement in labour rights brought by the government or by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, High Courts and tribunals through their judgements over the years. In India, both central legislations and the constitution provides to protect labour rights and eliminate exploitation. Most workers are unaware of the rights that have been developed specifically for them to protect their interests. This paper attempts to compile all of the laws and provisions that a worker should be aware of.