Kerala Refuses to Implement Centre’s New Labour Codes

On Thursday, Kerala Labour Minister V Sivankutty stated that the state would not adopt the labour codes from the federal government.

Sivankutty told reporters that while most states have taken action to implement labour laws, Kerala has not.

The minister added that Kerala has clearly indicated that it will not apply the labour laws at a meeting of all the states summoned by the Union Labour Ministry last month.

He denied that the state had given in to central pressure to create the labour code-related regulations when reporters questioned him about it.

"If we were succumbing to central government pressure, we would have given a letter accepting the codes. We have not done that," he said.

The draft regulation was notified in the state on December 14, 2021.

He also asserted that the draft regulations were not prepared in secret.

"It was done openly, and I recommended in the file that public opinion be sought regarding it. All further procedures in connection with it have been stopped. We have not taken any steps regarding it in the last three years. So, there is no need to be concerned," the minister said.

Major reforms, including universal social security coverage for gig workers, mandatory appointment letters for all employees, and statutory minimum wages and prompt payment across industries, were recently announced by the union government to all four labour codes that had been delayed since 2020.

On Wednesday, Sivankutty pledged that the state government will not, under any circumstances, take an anti-worker stance when putting the new labour laws into effect.

Additionally, he declared that central trade union representatives would meet to discuss issues about the labour rules that the Centre had alerted them to.

According to representatives of the Labour Department, a plan to hold a labour conclave in Thiruvananthapuram during the third week of December is being considered.