New Labour Codes and Implications for Women Workers

Abstract

The union government has enacted four new codes amalgamating existing 29 labour legislations, and presently is in the process of finalising the rules. This paper examines the probable impact of such changes on women workers, in the context of the declining female labour force participation rate in the last few decades. Labour laws need to be reframed in such a manner that they contain measures that facilitate greater female participation in the labour market. Broadly, the new codes have retained the provisions and added few, which may facilitate women’s participation. But there are areas of omission too, particularly in the informal sector, where the majority of women workers are employed. The analysis draws from feminist legal scholarship for a more nuanced understanding of the issue of legal protection beyond an economic rights perspective.