List of labour laws in India – Checklist for Compliance

list of labour laws in IndiaList of labour laws in India are given below which is a comprehensive list of labour legislation in India which is under the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India. Labour laws are set of legislation that aim to protect the interest of workers employed in Indian Organizations. Important articles in the Indian Constitution provide guidelines for the labour laws.

  • Article 14 emphasizes on equality of law for Indian citizens.
  • Article 16 emphasizes on equality of opportunity related to public employment.
  • Article 19 (1) (c) is about the right of a citizen to form unions or associations
  • Article 23 talks about prohibiting the traffic in human beings and forced labour
  • Article 24 prohibits children less than 14 years of age to be employed in a mine or factory or an Organization engaged in hazardous activities
  • Article 38 says that state shall secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people
  • Other articles that influence labour laws in India include articles 41 to 43 A

The list of labour laws in India enlisted below includes the list of labour acts and labour rules applied in India.

List of Labour acts in India

The list of labour acts passed by Central Government in India are as follows:  

  1. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948
  2. The Payment of Wages Act, 1936
  3. The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Act, 2017
  4. The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
  5. The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015
  6. The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
  7. The Trade Unions Act, 1926
  8. The Trade Unions (Amendments) Act, 2001
  9. The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946
  10. The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
  11. The Weekly Holidays Act, 1942
  12. The Factories Act, 1948
  13. The Plantation Labour Act, 1951
  14. The Mines Act, 1952
  15. The Building and Other Constructions Workers’ (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996
  16. The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961
  17. The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966
  18. The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970
  19. The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976
  20. The Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976
  21. The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979.
  22. The Cine Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1981
  23. The Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986
  24. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986
  25. The Working Journalists and Other Newspapers Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955
  26. The Working Journalists (Fixation of rates of Wages) Act, 1958
  27. The Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923
  28. Employees Compensation(Amendment) Act, 2017
  29. The Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
  30. The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948
  31. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
  32. Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017
  33. The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972
  34. The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Act, 2018
  35. The Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008
  36. The Building and Other Construction Workers Cess Act, 1996
  37. The Mica Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1946
  38. The Cine Workers Welfare (Cess) Act, 1981
  39. The Cine Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981
  40. The Limestone and Dolomite Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1972
  41. The Iron Ore Mines, Manganese Ore Mines and Chrome Ore Mines Labour Welfare (Cess) Act, 1976
  42. The Iron Ore Mines, Manganese Ore Mines and Chrome Ore Mines Labor Welfare Fund Act, 1976
  43. The Beedi Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1976
  44. The Beedi Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1976
  45. The Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by Certain Establishments) Act, 1988
  46. The Employment Exchange (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959
  47. The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry
    Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993

Labour rules in India

The list of labour laws in India also includes the labour rules that are used along with the corresponding act to achieve legal compliance:

  1. The Payment of Wages Rules, 1937
  2. The Minimum Wages (Central) Rules, 1950
  3. Working Journalist (Conditions of service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Rules, 1957
  4. Working Journalists (Fixation of Rates of Wages) Rules, 1958
  5. Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Central Rules, 1971
  6. The Payment of Gratuity Rules 1972
  7. The Equal Remuneration Rules, 1976
  8. The Beedi Workers Welfare Cess Act Rules, 1977
  9. The Cine Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Rules, 1984
  10. Unorganised Workers Social Security Rules, 2009
  11. The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Rules, 2016
  12. Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017

See also:

OHS Legislation in India

The above list of labour laws in India can be taken as checkpoints inside a compliance checklist to ensure that these legal requirements are met consistently.