Consolidation and simplification of 29 existing archaic legislations in labour laws into just 4 new labour codes is a long awaited and a welcome step, which is expected to encourage ease of doing business, better compliances and a conducive industrial governance to boost the overall economic growth of the country. 1025 sections in the existing labour legislations under repeal have been reduced to just 480 sections, and 335 definitions in the said 29 legislations under repeal have been reduced to just 226 definitions only. There is not much ado about 225 new definitions in the forthcoming new labour codes, but just for one definition, which is bothering all stakeholders in the entire business community, i.e., the employers and the employees. This contentious definition is the new definition of “wages” as specified in section 2(y) of the Code on Wages, 2019; and repeated in other three codes.
Everyone in the industry was expecting positively with great hope that in the historic exercise of consolidation...
