Firms with up to 300 workers can hire and fire without Govt nod: Bill

The government has proposed to introduce more conditions restricting the rights of workers to strike, alongside an increase in the threshold relating to layoffs and retrenchment in industrial establishments with 300 workers, from 100 workers or more at present – steps that are likely to provide more flexibility to employers for hiring and firing workers without government permission.

These changes have been proposed in The Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2020, introduced in Lok Sabha. Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar also introduced two other labour code Bills: The Code on Social Security, 2020, and The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.

The Industrial Relations Code has raised the threshold for requirement of a standing order – rules of conduct for workmen employed in industrial establishments – to over 300 workers.