Labour Laws are the one that determines the employment laws in any organization. It addresses the various rulings, compliances, procedures, reasonable restrictions, and legal rights of the working-class people in any organization. Major aspects of labour law include the certification of unions, labour-management interactions, collective bargaining, unfair labour practices, and, most crucially, the health, safety, and favourable working conditions at the workplace. Additionally, employment standards are a major emphasis of labour laws, including general holidays, yearly leave, working hours, unfair dismissals, the minimum wage, layoff procedures, and severance compensation, among many other concerns involving employers and employees and numerous compliance requirements.
In India, discrimination in the workplace is common and widely accepted in society. Despite having the same educational qualification, excellence, and work experience, the female labour force is discriminated against in the labour market due to societal norms and employers’ prejudices. There has been a plethora of central and state labour legislations established in India, to ensure the health, safety, equality, and welfare of workers but, due to frequently overlapping terms and matters, the Central Government has notified the Code on Wages, 2019 (Wage Code, 2019), consolidated and simplified labour legislation in the country.
The ambit of this article is confined to the benefits which the Wage Code, 2019 provides to the women labour force.
Wage code, 2019: A step towards women empowerment
Introduction
Labour Laws are the one that determines the employment laws in any organization. It addresses the various rulings, compliances, procedures, reasonable restrictions, and legal rights of the working-class people in any organization. Major aspects of labour law include the certification of unions, labour-management interactions, collective bargaining, unfair labour practices, and, most crucially, the health, safety, and favourable working conditions at the workplace. Additionally, employment standards are a major emphasis of labour laws, including general holidays, yearly leave, working hours, unfair dismissals, the minimum wage, layoff procedures, and severance compensation, among many other concerns involving employers and employees and numerous compliance requirements.
In India, discrimination in the workplace is common and widely accepted in society. Despite having the same educational qualification, excellence, and work experience, the female labour force is discriminated against in the labour market due to societal norms and employers’ prejudices. There has been a plethora of central and state labour legislations established in India, to ensure the health, safety, equality, and welfare of workers but, due to frequently overlapping terms and matters, the Central Government has notified the Code on Wages, 2019 (Wage Code, 2019),[1] consolidated and simplified labour legislation in the country.
The ambit of this article is confined to the benefits which the Wage Code, 2019 provides to the women labour force.
A brief about Wage Code, 2019
The Constitution of India empowers both the Central and the State governments to legislate and enact labour legislation. To simplify and consolidate the labour legislation, the Central Government has notified the Wage Code, 2019. The 2019 Code is the amalgamation of the four existing labour laws, namely, the Payment of Wages Act, of 1936,[2] the Minimum Wages Act, 1948,[3] the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965,[4] and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.[5]
The government’s goal is to unify and cover all four legislations under one law, the Wage Code, which will cover all four of the aforementioned laws’ varied facets of the same issue, i.e., wages. This means that the Wage Code is the first step in the implementation, enforcement, and harmonization of the nation’s labour regulations.
The amalgamation of the four legislations removes the arbitrariness and malpractice incidents against the workforce of the organization. In essence, the following are the key reform measures of the Wage Code, 2019:
i. Universal provision for minimum wages
ii. Guaranteed timely payment to all employees
iii. Removal of multiple definitions of terms and authorities
iv. Ease of compliance will lead to more opportunities and enterprises
v. Provide guidance and advice to the employers and the workers
Employment opportunities for women labour force under Wage Code, 2019
The recognition of women’s work is very less in India. Women’s work has been consistently undervalued at various institutions like families, corporations, government sectors, etc. Women are underrepresented at all levels of employment and are less likely to be hired for entry roles. Furthermore, to get into their dream job, they have to climb the ladders to success with extreme difficulty.
Though there are provisions under the Companies Act, 2013 that make it necessary for companies to appoint a female director on its boards and provide equal opportunities to female employees[6] but, it has been analysed in a recent study that the wage gap between men and women is 20% and at this rate, it will take around 100 years for women to earn the same amount as men earn.[7] Moreover, the position of India in the Global Gender Gap Report, 2020 is 112th out of 153 countries, which shows the gender discrimination faced by women.[8]
Provisions for women workforce under Wage Code, 2019
The Wage Code, 2019 is a recent Act that aims to update and harmonize the rules governing wages, bonuses, and related and incidental concerns. The Act aims to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of gender. To be precise, Section 3 of the Wage Code, 2019[9] states that there should be no discrimination amongst employees on the ground of gender in matters relating to wages, concerning the same work done of a similar nature. In addition, the provision restricts an employer to make any discrimination on the ground of sex during the process of recruitment of any employee for any work unless any law prohibits the employment of women labour force for that work.
This Section brings a welcome change in that it replaces “men and women” with “gender”, which is a big step to include transgender people and communities within this ambit and stop gender discrimination in the workplace.
In addition to this, Section 42 of the Act[10] mandates the involvement of women in the Central Advisory Board, as independent persons, in the proportion of not exceeding one-third of the total members of the board. Moreover, the Central Advisory Board and State Advisory Board shall advise the Central Government and State Government respectively on the issues relating to employment opportunities for women.
Improvement in Employment trends
The Economic Survey of 2022-23[11] tabled by Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs states that though the pandemic has affected the labour market of the country but with sustained efforts and various progressive labour reforms, the labour market has recovered from the aftereffects of the Covid-19 pandemic, in both rural and urban areas.
The labour markets have recovered, in both urban and rural areas, with unemployment rates falling from 5.8% in 2018-19 to 4.2% in 2020-21. In addition, male labour force participation has increased, rising from 55.6% in 2018–19 to 57.5% in 2020–21. The major improvement has been brought to the female labour force whose participation rate has increased from 18.6% in 2018–19 to 25.1% in 2020–21. The percentage of rural women who are employed has increased significantly, rising from 19.7% in 2018–19 to 27.7% in 2020–21.[12]
The present data from the survey of 2022-2023 presents that the participation of the women labour force after the year 2019 has improved by a significant percentage. According to the economic survey of 2022-2023, more than 75% of the women labour force in rural areas are employed.[13] Moreover, according to the data of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), the labour force participation by the women workforce (usually 15+ years) is at the highest level in the last four years.[14]
It is important to note that female labour participation in India has declined due to such discriminatory practices. In addition to this, the female workforce got affected by the Covid-19 situation, however, the above data signifies that we are moving towards improvement in the female workforce which shows that the organizations are ensuring healthy competition amongst the candidates for a specific job.
Conclusion
The gender gap is a jarring reality in India. Based on this, discrimination on the pay scale is also an accomplished fact of our society that cannot be eradicated easily. It is complex problem in our society which needs special attention. India’s Female Labour Force Participation Rate has been underestimated for ages. In addition to this, female workers are not safe in the corporate world or face discrimination, humiliation, violence, assault, etc. It took us a long time, to stand in a position where the courts are also considering the doctrine of ‘equal pay for equal work’.
The recent code on wages is a welcome step towards the empowerment of women’s labour force which provides provisions for women’s empowerment and to stop gender discrimination in the workplace. Though the problem of suppression of women’s labour force is still not solved and cannot be solved in the upcoming years but, the small step taken by the Central Government is constantly working against unequal pay for equal work and discrimination faced by the women’s labour force at the workplaces.
[1] Code on Wages, 2019, No. 29, Acts of Parliament, 2019 (India).
[2] Payment of Wages Act, 1936, No. 4, Acts of Parliament, 1936 (India).
[3] Minimum Wages Act, 1948, No. 11, Acts of Parliament, 1948 (India).
[4] Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, No. 21, Acts of Parliament, 1965 (India).
[5] Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, No. 25, Acts of Parliament, 1976 (India).
[6] Companies Act, 2013, §149, No. 18, Acts of Parliament, 2013 (India).
[7] Maggie Fitzgerald, It will take 100 years for women to earn the same as men at this rate, CNBC (Mar. 28, 2023, 9:29 PM), https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/24/it-will-take-100-years-for-women-to-earn-the-same-as-men-at-this-rate.html.
[8] WEF’s gender gap index: India slips 28 places, ranks 140 among 156 countries, The Hindu, Mar. 31, 2020, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/wefs-gender-gap-index-india-slips-28-places-ranks-140-among-156-countries/article34206867.ece.
[9] Code on Wages, 2019, § 3, No. 29, Acts of Parliament, 2019 (India).
[10] Code on Wages, 2019, § 42, No. 29, Acts of Parliament, 2019 (India).
[11] India Budget, https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/ (last visited Mar. 27, 2023).
[12] Social Infrastructure and Employment: Big Tent, India Budget Economic Survey 145 (2023), https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/doc/eschapter/echap06.pdf.
[13] Supra note at 11.
[14] Namita Bhandare, Why an Increase in Women’s Workforce Numbers Might Not Be Good News, Indiaspend (Mar. 29, 2023, 8:20 PM), https://www.indiaspend.com/womenwork/why-an-increase-in-womens-workforce-numbers-might-not-be-good-news-826138#:~:text=This%20increase%20is%20driven%20by,highest%20level%20in%20four%20years.
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