Highlights of the speech of Com. Amarjeet Kaur, General Secretary, AITUC 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 Com. Amarjeet Kaur, General Secretary, All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) 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.
The Central Government knows that when they try to impose the policies of privatisation, monetisation and handing over the lands belonging to the PSUs to the corporates, the organised trade union movement will fight back. We are the resistance and it is to crush us that they are bringing these 4 labour codes.
In July 2015, the BJP led Government organised its first and last Indian Labour Conference (ILC). This ILC was attended by PM Narendra Modi and Finance Minister, Arun Jailtley. At this conference, the AITUC general secretary, Com. Gurudas Dasgupta asked PM Modi, why the Rajasthan Government has amended the labour laws without consulting the trade unions? The Prime Minister assured the trade union leaders that no laws will be amended without consulting the trade unions. But just after a month, the PM announced from the Red Fort, on August 15th 2015 that 44 central labour laws will be converted to 4 codes. This was never discussed in the ILC.
These labour codes will legalise all labour law violations. But on the contrary the government and capitalist propaganda is that these “reforms” will lead us to Viksit Bharat. But the reality is that while on the one hand infrastructure will be built, on the other hand we will be taken back to British times as far as people’s rights are concerned.
The Ministers say these labour Codes will liberate the trade unions and the workers from the colonial mind set. We say that this government has the colonial mindset.
From the 19th century onwards, unions started getting formed in India and the workers fought against the British. In the 20th century the struggles grew. In1920, the first national trade union, AITUC was formed. In 1922, we fought and got the Mines Act passed, in 1923, the Compensation Act, in 1925, the Wages Payment Act, in 1926, the Trade Unions act. All these we got by fighting against the British. And, now the Government tells us they want to liberate us from the colonial mindset.
I want to tell you all that the rules are yet to be notified and so the labour codes are not yet law. Also, the states have not yet notified the rules.
In 2019, after the PM’s Red Fort speech, the code on wages was passed in parliament in September 2019, without any consultation with the trade unions. During Corona period they brought in 3 codes, the Code on Industrial Relations, the Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions and the Code on Social Security. They put 200 to 300 pages on their website and are falsely saying that consultations were done.
We the trade unions protested and asked the government to look after the migrant workers stranded during lockdown. Though they prohibited assembly of people, we demonstrated at Jantar Mantar and we were arrested. We gave a strike call for 26th November 2020. Since then, we have been continuously protesting and we have carried out 5 all India strikes till now against the labour codes and other attacks. The last one was on July 9th, 2025, where more than 25 crores workers participated. In spite of these protests, they went ahead. On 13th November 2025, we had a meeting with the labour minister and we had given our objections to the labour codes. He did not say anything and on 21st November, 2025 they notified the labour codes.
The Code on Wages says that there will be no more a minimum wage, but they have declared a national floor level wage. This is Rs 178 per day which is less than Rs 5000 a month. Many states in India have a much higher minimum wage. By this floor level wage, they are telling the states that they can lower their respective minimum wages to this floor level wage.
The schedule of 2006 has been removed under which there were different kinds of jobs listed. 93% of workers in this country are outsourced, on contract or in the informal economy. They claim that now bonus will be paid every year, but for this the employer employee relation has to be there. Similarly, they say gratuity will now be paid every year instead of after 5 years, but again for these 93% of workers, this will have no meaning. There will be no minimum wages for these workers, no safety. If the capitalist is not satisfied with the work, he can reduce the payment or force him to work for longer hours.
The Apprentice Act has been changed. They can take as many apprentices as they want and pay them whatever the capitalist desires. It will not be a wage but an honorarium and they cannot unionise.
The Code on Industrial Relations has increased the threshold for registering a factory from 10 to 20 with power and 20 to 40 without power. 60 to 70% of all factory workers will thus be left out and not be counted. They have increased the threshold for closure and layoff from 100 to 300. This has all been done in the name of ease of doing business for the Indian and foreign capitalists.
Union formation will become difficult. The registrar is given powers and on his own whims he can derecognise a union. Only unions with more than 50% membership will have negotiating rights. What about the unions who have 35%, 40%, they will have no rights? The management will choose which unions to negotiate with. Why should management have this right? Hire and fire will become easy and strikes will become impossible.
The code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working conditions says units with less than 10 workers will not be included. What will happen to the working conditions of those units with less than 10 workers?
Contract hiring threshold has been increased from 20 to 50. They have permitted night shift for women workers in factories, mines and in hazardous environments.
Migrant workers are also affected. The Migrant Act has been thrown into the dustbin. Only 6 clauses of this act have been incorporated.
The Code on Social Security says everyone will be covered. Gig workers will also be covered by collecting money from the aggregators. If you were concerned about the gig workers, why did you not include them in the Code on Wages, on Industrial Relations and on Occupational Safety, Health and Working conditions?
Under this code, ESI, EPF, Beedi Board, Construction Workers Board, Fisheries Board, state welfare boards will all be finished. It will become impossible for state governments to help the workers.
Self-certification is introduced and all non-compliances will be decriminalised. There will be no question of sending capitalists to jail, only a fine which they will only be too happy to pay.
The labour courts are wound up. Tribunals will have to be set up. There will be total chaos.
See the example of Indigo. If a big capitalist threatens the government, the government goes back. The pilots were saying that do not put our lives at risk and those of the passengers. Indigo management created chaos purposefully so that government bows before them. The government bows before capitalists. It listens to workers only on the streets. We fought the British, now they want to throw us back to the British era. We will fight.
The Central Trade Unions are meeting tomorrow. We will have to go on strike.