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Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Centre over the notification of the four labour codes, accusing the Narendra
Modi government of pushing "anti-worker" reforms after the conclusion of Assembly elections to avoid public scrutiny. In a strongly worded post on X, Kharge alleged that the government deliberately waited until the elections were over before notifying the labour codes through gazette notifications issued on May 8 and 9.
"In its typical cowardly fashion, the Modi Government waited for the assembly elections to conclude before notifying the four anti-worker labour codes through a series of gazette notifications on 8th and 9th May 2026," he said.
The Congress chief warned that the labour reforms would severely impact workers across the country and create what he described as a "hire-and-fire" environment. "For crores of India's workers, these codes promise a future of hire-and-fire policies, contract employment, and limited space for unionisation," Kharge said.
He further said, "It is important to note that the Modi Government drafted and implemented these anti-worker codes without any consultation. It has not even convened the Indian Labour Conference since 2015."
Kharge also alleged that the labour codes were designed to favour large corporate interests. "These codes, which benefit only the PM’s industrialist friends, are the greatest setback for workers’ rights since independence," he said.
The Congress president used the opportunity to reiterate the party's "Shramik Nyay" agenda, which he said would focus on strengthening labour protections and welfare measures.
According to Kharge, the Congress's five-point programme includes restoration of MGNREGA and its expansion to urban areas, a national minimum wage of Rs 400 per day, and a Right to Health law offering universal health coverage of Rs 25 lakh.
The agenda also promises comprehensive social security for unorganised workers, including life and accident insurance, along with steps to stop contractualisation in core government functions and review what the Congress calls the Modi government's dilution of labour laws.
Labour Codes Notified
The Centre completed the implementation of the four labour codes by notifying the corresponding rules in the official gazette, more than five years after the reforms were first introduced to overhaul India’s labour law framework. The four labour codes - the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 - had come into force on November 21, 2025.
With the publication of the rules, the new labour regime has now become fully operational across the country.
Notably, the labour codes were brought in to replace and consolidate 29 existing labour laws into a simplified structure.
The Centre has maintained that the labour codes are aimed at simplifying and modernising India's labour regulations to improve ease of doing business while ensuring worker welfare.
