Opinion | Labour Codes, Not Strikes: The Smarter Road to Viksit Bharat 2047

For generations, India’s workers have borne the weight of an outdated and fragmented labour system that often failed to protect their wages, security and dignity at work. Millions of workers in the unorganised, contract and emerging gig sectors remained invisible in policy and excluded from basic social protection. The four Labour Codes represent a long-awaited effort to correct these historic injustices. By bringing together nearly three dozen scattered laws into a single, coherent framework, they seek to ensure fair wages, safer workplaces, and social security for those who have long stood at the margins. Their implementation, after years of consultation and debate, marks a decisive moment in strengthening workers’ rights and creating a more stable and humane employment environment.

The National Front of Indian Trade Unions (NFITU), as a responsible trade union organisation committed to the long-term welfare, dignity and social security of workers, strongly believes that participating in a strike against the Labour Codes on 12 February is neither necessary nor in the best interests of the working class at this juncture.

The Labour Codes are not an abrupt or unilateral intervention. They are the outcome of a reform process spanning more than two decades. The need to consolidate 29 fragmented labour laws into four comprehensive Codes was long recognised as essential to simplify compliance, reduce ambiguity and modernise India’s labour framework in line with changing realities of work and employment.

Outright rejection of the Labour Codes overlooks the substantive benefits they seek to provide to workers. The Code on Wages ensures universal minimum wage coverage and timely payment of wages, addressing long-standing gaps in wage protection across sectors. The Code on Social Security, for the first time, creates a statutory framework to extend social security to unorganised, contract, gig and platform workers, nearly 40 crore workers who were earlier outside the ambit of formal protection. These provisions represent a historic expansion of workers’ rights and social security coverage in India.

The Industrial Relations Code and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code aim to promote industrial harmony, faster dispute resolution and safer, healthier and more dignified workplaces. While concerns on certain provisions may exist, experience shows that blanket opposition and strikes rarely lead to constructive outcomes. Worker interests are better served through dialogue, rule-based improvements and issue-specific discussions rather than confrontation that risks wage loss, production disruption and employment insecurity—particularly for the most vulnerable sections of the workforce.

It is also incorrect to claim that the Labour Codes were enacted without consultation. The reform process involved multiple rounds of tripartite discussions, deliberations in Parliamentary Standing Committees and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. In a democratic system, differences of opinion are natural, but they must be resolved through negotiation and institutional dialogue, not through disruption that ultimately harms workers themselves.

At a time when the Indian economy is undergoing structural transformation and the nation is moving towards the goal of Viksit Bharat, trade unions must choose responsible action over disruption. Our role is not merely to oppose reforms, but to shape them so that workers’ rights, social security and dignity at work are strengthened in practice through effective implementation and continuous improvement.

The real responsibility of trade unions is not to protest, but to make sure that workers actually benefit on the ground. The focus now should be on ensuring that the Labour Codes are implemented fairly and reach every worker who needs protection. By choosing dialogue, cooperation and continuous improvement over strikes, trade unions can help build a system that provides job security, social protection and dignity for workers, while also supporting India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat by 2047.

(The author is President, National Front of Indian Trade Unions (NFITU))