Constitution and Labour Laws: formula sheet

Key formulas

Article 14 and 16

Art. 14 = equality before law; Art. 16 = equal opportunity in public employment

Used against arbitrary action and discrimination in service matters.

Article 19(1)(c) and 19(1)(g)

Right to form associations or unions; right to practise any profession, trade or business

Both are subject to reasonable restrictions in Article 19(4) and 19(6). No fundamental right to strike.

Article 21

Life and personal liberty = includes livelihood, dignity and safe working conditions (judicial interpretation)

Source of the courts' protection for workers' health, safety and dignity.

Articles 23 and 24

Art. 23 = no forced labour or human trafficking; Art. 24 = no child below 14 in factory, mine or hazardous work

Article 23 protects against the State and private persons alike. Article 24 is narrower than a ban on all child work.

DPSP on labour

Art. 39(a), (d), (e), (f); Art. 41; Art. 42; Art. 43; Art. 43A; Art. 47

39(d) equal pay for equal work; 41 right to work; 42 just and humane conditions and maternity relief; 43 living wage; 43A workers' participation in management.

Concurrent List labour entries

Entry 22 = trade unions, industrial and labour disputes; Entry 23 = social security, employment; Entry 24 = welfare of labour

Both Parliament and States can legislate. Central law prevails in conflict under Article 254, subject to its proviso.

Fundamental Duties

Article 51A (Part IVA)

Duties of citizens. Not directly enforceable, but they guide interpretation.

Four-group classification

Labour laws = Industrial relations + Wages + Social security + Safety and welfare

Each group now matches one Labour Code. Use it as the skeleton for any classification answer.

Four Labour Codes

Code on Wages + Industrial Relations Code + Code on Social Security + OSH Code

In force from 21 November 2025. Name all four when asked about the present position.

Constitutional position

Labour = Concurrent List (Seventh Schedule)

Both Parliament and State legislatures can legislate on labour.

ILO instruments

Convention = binding after ratification; Recommendation = guidance only

Do not say that every ILO Convention automatically binds India.

Objectives of labour legislation

Protection of workers + Industrial peace + Social justice + Productivity and economic growth

A handy list of objectives to open any answer on why labour laws exist.

Code on Wages, 2019: laws replaced

Payment of Wages Act, 1936 + Minimum Wages Act, 1948 + Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 + Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

Four laws merged into one Code. Question: "which Acts are subsumed under the Code on Wages" - give these four.

Industrial Relations Code, 2020: laws replaced

Trade Unions Act, 1926 + Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 + Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

Three laws merged. It deals with unions, standing orders, strikes, lay-off, retrenchment and dispute resolution.

Code on Social Security, 2020: laws replaced

Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 + ESI Act, 1948 + EPF and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 + Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959 + Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 + Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 + Cine-Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981 + Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Cess Act, 1996 + Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008

Nine laws merged. Covers PF, ESI, gratuity, maternity benefit, compensation and schemes for gig and unorganised workers.

OSH Code, 2020: laws replaced

Factories Act, 1948 + Plantations Labour Act, 1951 + Mines Act, 1952 + Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1955 + Working Journalists (Fixing of Rates of Wages) Act, 1958 + Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961 + Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966 + Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 + Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976 + Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 + Cine-Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1981 + Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986 + Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996

Thirteen laws merged. Learn the main ones: Factories, Mines, Contract Labour, Inter-State Migrant Workmen, Plantations, Dock Workers and Building Workers.

Count check

4 + 3 + 9 + 13 = 29 central laws

Use this total to check that your lists are complete.

Constitutional basis

Labour = Concurrent List subject → Centre and State both legislate and administer

Trade unions, industrial and labour disputes, social security and welfare of labour are concurrent subjects. Say 'appropriate Government' for who acts in a given case.

Dispute machinery

Bipartite forum → Conciliation (failure report) → Industrial Tribunal (or National Industrial Tribunal for questions of national importance or disputes likely to affect establishments in more than one State)

Learn the order of the early stages. The two Tribunals are alternative adjudicating forums, not successive rungs. After the conciliation officer submits a failure report, a party may apply to the Tribunal. Voluntary arbitration is also open to the parties.

Enforcement officer

Inspector-cum-Facilitator = inspect + advise

One designation under the Codes replaces the older inspector concept. The dual role is a common exam point.

Tripartite composition

Government + Employers + Workers

Indian Labour Conference and similar bodies advise. They do not adjudicate.

Tribunal composition

Industrial Tribunal and National Industrial Tribunal = each has a judicial member + an administrative member

Under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, each Tribunal has a judicial member and an administrative member. The Code allows certain matters to be decided by a single member, so do not say that a Tribunal must always sit with both.

Quick revision

• Labour is a subject on which both Parliament and State legislatures can legislate, so know the concurrent power.
• Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles both shape labour law, in different ways.
• Labour laws can be grouped by purpose: wages, social security, working conditions and industrial relations.
• There are four Labour Codes, and they have been in force since 21 November 2025.
• The four Codes are Wages, Industrial Relations, Social Security, and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions.
• Each Code consolidates and replaces several earlier Acts, so link each Code to its predecessors.
• Always check the Code's own definition before applying a term to facts.
• Know the authorities that administer each Code and what each one does.
• Know the sequence of dispute settlement, from the first level to the final forum.
• In answers, state the provision, apply it to the facts, then give a clear conclusion.
• Cite the Code and section only when you are sure of it.

Common mistakes

• Saying Directive Principles are enforceable in a court of law. Fix: State that Directive Principles are non-justiciable, but courts use them to interpret rights and to uphold labour laws.
• Claiming Article 19(1)(c) gives workers a fundamental right to strike. Fix: Write that the right is to form associations or unions, subject to reasonable restrictions. The right to strike is a statutory right, not a fundamental one.
• Saying the four Labour Codes replaced laws in 2020 or 2019 only Fix: Say they were enacted in 2019-2020 and came into force on 21 November 2025.
• Saying every ILO Convention is binding on India Fix: Write that a Convention binds only after the country ratifies it, while Recommendations only guide.
• Writing that the Code on Wages replaced the Factories Act or the Payment of Gratuity Act. Fix: Link by theme. Pay, bonus and equal pay go to Wages. Gratuity, PF, ESI and maternity go to Social Security. Factories and mines go to OSH.
• Saying the Codes are still not in force or quoting old enforcement dates. Fix: State that all four Codes came into force on 21 November 2025, and use the Codes, not the old Acts, in answers.
• Saying labour is only a Central subject or only a State subject. Fix: Always write that labour is a Concurrent List subject, so the 'appropriate Government' may be Central or State.
• Saying the Indian Labour Conference decides industrial disputes. Fix: State that it is a tripartite advisory forum. Disputes are decided by tribunals after conciliation.

Exam tips

• Learn the Article numbers with a keyword each. Examiners award marks for the correct Article number beside the point.
• In short notes, always split your answer into Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties, then add the Concurrent List.
• For case-based questions, state whether the provision is enforceable. This one line often separates good answers from average ones.
• Do not use Article 19(1)(c) to claim a right to strike or recognition of a union. Say it is subject to reasonable restrictions.
• Link the Constitution to the Labour Codes in your conclusion: the Codes draw their legislative power from Concurrent List entries 22, 23 and 24.
• Always write the four-group list and match it to the four Labour Codes. It earns marks in many question types.
• Give the date 21 November 2025 for the Codes coming into force, and do not confuse it with the enactment years.
• In history answers, write stages in time order and add one cause for each.