The four labour codes (2019-2020)

Code on Wages Bill introduced in Lok Sabha[11][5]

Lok Sabha passes the Code on Wages[11]

Rajya Sabha passes the Code on Wages[11]

Assent to the Code on Wages, 2019[1][11]

First of the four codes; the other three, introduced in 2019, were withdrawn and reintroduced in September 2020 after review by the Standing Committee on Labour.

Standing Committee on Labour reports on the Industrial Relations Code, 2019[6][7][8]

Its eighth report recommends modifications; the government withdraws the 2019 bill and introduces a new 2020 version taking them into account. The Code on Social Security and the OSH Code follow the same path.

Three new codes introduced in Lok Sabha[10][11]

Lok Sabha passes the three codes[9][11]

Rajya Sabha passes the three codes[9][11]

Assent to the three 2020 codes[2][3][4][9]

All four codes are law; their entry into force depends on a notification by the central government.

Private member’s bill to repeal the four codes introduced in Rajya Sabha[14][10]

The Labour Codes (Repeal) Bill, 2021, tabled by Elamaram Kareem, was not passed; its status is « removed » in Parliament’s database.

Nationwide strike called by central trade unions[25]

According to the Ministry of Labour, the call came from « certain Central Trade Unions »; their demands were « not confined only to labour reforms or labour welfare issues » but extended to broader policy matters. The ministry puts absenteeism at 9.22%.

National conference of labour ministers of the States and Union Territories[16]

The four codes come into force across the country[17][28][31]

In force, rules still being completed: central rules notified on 8 May 2026; a few States and Union Territories were still pre-publishing or finalising theirs in July 2026, the repealed laws’ rules continuing to apply where consistent with the codes.

Entry into force of the four codes[17][28][20]

Provisions that need no rules apply at once; during the transition, the rules, notifications and schemes made under the repealed laws continue insofar as they are consistent with the codes. By mid-December 2025, 34 or 35 States and Union Territories, depending on the code, had pre-published draft rules.

Draft central rules pre-published for comment[21][22]

45 days for comments under the Code on Wages, the Code on Social Security and the OSH Code, 30 days under the Industrial Relations Code. The draft social security rules set eligibility criteria for gig and platform workers.

Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Act, 2026[13][12][10]

Passed by both Houses on 12 February 2026 and deemed in force from 21 November 2025, it states in the Code itself that the Trade Unions Act 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act 1946 and the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 are repealed, and keeps the existing tribunals working until the new ones are functional. The government presented it as removing any doubt that the repeal had been delegated to the executive.

Central rules under the four codes notified[33][29]

Including the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026. States and Union Territories, which share competence over labour, must adopt their own rules.