Monsoon Session Update: Rajya Sabha Passes 3 Key Labour Reform Bill Amid Strong Boycott By Opposition Parties

The Rajya Sabha today cleared key labour reform bills even without the opposition present in the parliament.

Parliamentarians in Rajya Sabha during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: Even as the opposition staged a protest against the agrarian reform bill, the Rajya Sabha today passed three labour reform bills during the parliamentary session. The Rajya Sabha also adjourned sine die today eight days ahead of the scheduled end. ALSO READ | Facebook India Moves SC Against Notice Issued By Delhi Assembly Over Role In Feb Riots; Hearing Today The bills that were passed today included the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, Industrial Relations Code, Code on Social Security. These were already passed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. According to a report by PTI, these will now be sent to the President for his approval. These three bills are part of the four labour codes, out of which one  Code on Wages Bill, 2019 has already been passed last year. They have been formed by merging 29 labour laws. ALSO READ| India Corona Tally Breaches 56 Lakh-Mark, Testing Surges 12 Lakh Per Day But Is That Enough? Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said in the report, "The purpose of labour reforms is to provide a transparent system to suit the changed business environment." The provisions in these bills include an increase in the threshold of the number of employees needed for closure of companies without government approval from 100 to 300. This makes it easier for companies to fire staff. The minister on the other hand has said that a low threshold number does not aid employment generation as it discourages employers to recruit more workers than this and they deliberately keep their workers' strength below it. He also feels that the increase will encourage employers. He informed that 16 states have already increased the threshold. According to the report the minister also said that the bills will safeguard the interest of workers and provide universal social security by expanding the ambit of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation and Employees' State Corporation of India. He informed that there would a social security fund to cover around 40 crore unorganised sector workers.