Opinion | Shramev Jayate: The Biggest Pro-Worker, Pro-Jobs Labour Reform Since Independence
November 21, 2025, will be etched in golden letters in the history of Indian labour. On this historic day, the four labour codes came into force, consolidating 29 antiquated, colonial-era central laws into one modern, transparent, and worker-centric framework:
This is not mere legislative action but emancipation of Indian labour from the chains of regressive, overlapping laws that choked both workers and enterprises for seven decades. No government since 1947 has done as much for the mazdoor, the shramik, the gig worker, the woman on the factory floor, and the migrant carrying his humble jhola from state to state as this single stroke of reform has achieved.
Mahatma Gandhi taught us that “the sweat of the labourer is the lifeblood of the economy". He saw workers not as cogs but as partners in progress, entitled to fair wages, safe conditions, and a voice in their destiny. These four Codes are a living tribute to that Gandhian vision.
1. The 50-crore unorganised worker, earlier invisible to most laws, now has a statutory right to minimum wages, timely payment, bonus and a uniform........





















Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Tarik Cyril Amar
Sabine Sterk
Stefano Lusa
Mort Laitner
Ellen Ginsberg Simon
Mark Travers Ph.d
Gilles Touboul
Daniel Orenstein