Highlights of the speech of Shri M. Shanmugam, Member of Parliament and General Secretary, Labour Progressive Federation (LPF) at the AIFAP meeting on 7 December 2025 to demand repeal of the four labour codes, prepared by Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) correspondent
Main points of the address of Shri M. Shanmugam, Member of Parliament and General Secretary, Labour Progressive Federation (LPF) at the All India meeting on “Repeal the Four Labour Codes” organized by the All India Forum Against Privatisation (AIFAP) on 7 December 2025 are given below.
Today it is not merely a meeting. It is a collective voice of Indian working class, reaffirming our uncompromising stand.
The implementation of four codes is a constitutional breakdown. India is not a one state. It is a union of states. Labor is a concurrent subject. Either central or state can enact the labour laws and they have to enact the rules to implement the same. If the centre enacts the rules, they should be recognized by the concerned states also. Except states that are BJP ruled states none of the other states are accepting these four codes. Without acceptance by the states, they are implementing the Codes, so it is against of the state’s autonomy.
I would like to share my views why the struggle is close to our heart. Comrades, this issue is not theoretical for us. It is something I have personally fought inside parliament, inside the standing committee as well as outside on the streets with workers. As a member of parliament, as a member of the standing committee of labour, I had the responsibility to examine the draft Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working conditions (OSH).
Let me place on record that there also I was the one who ensured that the draft OSH code was sent to the Standing Committee instead of being passed in a hurry and that too without any proper debate in the house. I insisted that the voice of workers must be heard before any law is passed. After deep study and consultation with the trade unions, safety experts and workers, I gave a strong dissent note and gave a clear warning that OSH code would dilute the safety standards, reduce the inspection, weaken the worker protection, expand the hazardous working conditions and make workplace more dangerous, especially for contract and unorganized workers.
Today every single concern raised in that dissent note stands proven.
I want to briefly highlight why we demand repeal of all the four Codes. These have been designed for corporates and not workers.
Industrial relations code legalizes hire and fire of up to 300 workers. It restricts the right to strike with impossible notice conditions. It encourages fixed term employment over permanency. It weakens union recognition and collective bargaining. The Code dilutes the norm of the 8 hour work day. The Code shifts from inspection to facilitation. The Code expands exemption for contractors. It reduces coverage for every category of workers.
The Code on Wages removes the concept of schedule of employment. No guarantee of real minimum wages. It gives more power to the centre and reduces the tripartite mechanism.
The inclusion of gig and unorganized worker in the Social Security Code is only on paper. There is no financial guarantee from the government. ESIC, EPFO expansion is still not operational. Burden is shifted to the workers and not to employer as highlighted in my dissent note.
These codes do not modernize labour laws. They have massacred them. Labour codes and privatization are a coordinated attack. The introduction of the labour codes coincided with corporatization of ordnance factories, privatization of PSUs, monetization of national assets, because privatization requires a weakened labour force. They want a future where worker is temporary, unions are restricted, strikes are illegal and social security is optional.
Workers demand repeal not cosmetic amendments. Some suggest reforms but we know from ground realities and from the parliamentary scrutiny that these codes cannot be repaired they must be repealed.