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Labour Rights

India’s New OSHW Code Appreciates Migrant Workers’ Realities, but Fails To Ensure Comprehensive Protection

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (OSCHWC), 2020 takes into account ground realities of present-day migration landscape, but remains limited in scope.

What Durga Puja During COVID-19 Pandemic Tells Us About Artisans

Time and again, artisans have crafted idols of Goddess Durga to make a point about social justice. Yet, these artisans are themselves one of the most underpaid segments of India's informal economy.

The Industrial Relations Code Weakens the Bargaining Power of Indian Trade Unions

In India, trade union growth and bargaining power have weakened over the last three decades in India. Certain provisions in the new industrial relations law will only worsen the situation.

How India Missed the ‘Equal Pay for Equal Work’ Bus Last Year

The Code on Wages 2019 missed a glaring opportunity to formalise the Indian labour market, and in the process, ended up reinforcing critical pay gaps.

Miseries of India’s Construction Workers Won’t End, Thanks To a Lax Protection Regime

Construction workers contribute significantly to the national formal economy, but themselves remain perennially informal. This needs to change.

The Closure of Assam’s Iconic Paper Mills Have Pushed Workers To the Brink

With the NCLT waiting to decide the fate of the two now-shuttered paper mills at Nagaon and in Cachar, workers who have been left in the lurch want the government to act.

As COVID-19 Chokes Garment Supply Chains in India, Workers Suffer

Disruptions in garment supply chains in India on account of the pandemic-induced lockdowns have seriously dented the already-dismal living and working conditions of workers.

Migrant Workers and their Children in Kerala Continue to Face Crippling Problems

From high drop-out rates among children to lack of awareness, migrant workers in Kerala, especially those employed in plantations, face severe challenges in living a dignified life.

Why Is It Difficult to Implement Minimum Wages Act in India?

The implementation of minimum wages legislation in India remains hamstrung by a host of systemic and practical challenges.

India Prepares to Introduce ‘Fixed Term Employment’ Amidst Strong Opposition

Will regular employment in India be a thing of the past once Fixed Term Employment (FTE) is in place under the proposed Code on Industrial Relations?