Labour laws and Acts

• Protect Workers’ Rights: Labour laws ensure fair wages, safe workplaces, regulated hours, maternity protection, and prohibit discrimination and child labour.

• Promote Industrial Peace: They help resolve disputes through dedicated tribunals and Labour Courts, reducing strikes and unrest.

• Provide Social Security: Laws cover insurance, provident fund, and compensation for accidents, giving financial stability to workers and their families.

• Support Economic Growth: Clear legal frameworks promote investment by ensuring balancing of employee-employer interests.

• Enable Grievance Redressal: Workers can seek justice against unfair dismissal, wage denial, and unsafe practices via Labour Courts and Tribunals.

• Essential for Inclusive Development: Protects vulnerable groups, including women and children, and ensures workplace equality and dignity.

Labour Standing Orders add further transparency by making service conditions clear and enforceable, fostering trust and reducing exploitation or arbitrary action by employers.

You can copy this resource to your website, giving users the most authoritative, accessible library of old Indian labour laws, standing orders, and their societal importance in one place. If you need state-specific bare acts or additional sectoral rules, just ask!

📜 Old Labour Laws & Acts of India — Downloadable PDF Links

Below is a categorized list of key Central labour legislation, each with an official government PDF link for free download and reference.

1. Core Labour Acts

• The Factories Act, 1948
  Download PDF

• The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
  Download PDF

• The Minimum Wages Act, 1948
  Download PDF

• The Payment of Wages Act, 1936
  Download PDF

• The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
  Download PDF

• The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972
  Download PDF

• The Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970
  Download PDF

• The Employees’ Provident Funds (EPF) & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
  Download PDF

• The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948
  Download PDF

• The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
  Download PDF

• The Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923 (Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923)
  Download PDF

• The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986
  Download PDF

2. Wage and Employment Conditions

• The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
  Download PDF

• The Shops and Establishments Act (varies by state, see state labour sites)

3. Social Security & Welfare

• The Employees’ Provident Funds Scheme, 1952 & Pension Scheme, 1995
  Download EPF Schemes PDF

• The Employees’ State Insurance (General) Regulations, 1950
  Download PDF

4. Specialized & Sectoral Laws

• The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996
  Download PDF

• The Mines Act, 1952
  Download PDF

• The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961
  Download PDF

5. Labour Standing Orders

• The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946
  Download Full Act (PDF)

• Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central Rules, 1946
  Download Central Rules (PDF)

State standing orders rules vary—see your state’s official labour site for state-specific downloads.

6. Compilations and Guides

• Comprehensive Handbook on Indian Labour Laws
  Download Compilation (PDF)

• Labour and Employment Laws of India
  Download Explanation & Guide (PDF)

7. Full List and Archive for Reference

• Central Acts & Rules Portal
  Ministry of Labour & Employment Acts
  
  IN New Labour Codes in India (Effective from January 2025)

The Indian government has consolidated 29 central labour laws into the following four comprehensive Labour Codes:

1. Code on Wages, 2019

• Covers: Minimum wages, payment of wages, bonus, and equal remuneration.

• Key Features:

  • Right to minimum wages for all employees in organized and unorganized sectors.

  • Equal pay for equal work for both men and women.

  • Timely payment of wages nationwide.

  • Simplified floor wage concept to minimize regional disparities.

• Acts Merged: Payment of Wages Act (1936), Minimum Wages Act (1948), Payment of Bonus Act (1965), Equal Remuneration Act (1976).

• Official PDF: Download Wage Code (English)

2. Industrial Relations Code, 2020

• Covers: Industrial disputes, trade union recognition, standing orders, strikes and lockouts, layoffs, and retrenchment.

• Key Features:

  • Single negotiating union or council in establishments.

  • Quick dispute redressal (case disposal within 1 year).

  • Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana: Unemployment allowance for eligible workers.

  • Simplified retrenchment and dispute procedures.

• Acts Merged: Trade Unions Act (1926), Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act (1946), Industrial Disputes Act (1947).

• Official PDF: Download IR Code (English)

3. Code on Social Security, 2020

• Covers: Provident fund, employee insurance (ESI), gratuity, maternity benefits, compensation, social security for gig/platform/contract workers.

• Key Features:

  • Brings together all major social security benefits.

  • Extends coverage to gig workers, platform workers, and self-employed.

  • Universal registration, easier compliance, and portability of benefits.

• Acts Merged: EPF Act (1952), ESI Act (1948), Employees’ Compensation Act (1923), Maternity Benefit Act (1961), Payment of Gratuity Act (1972), and others.

• Official PDF: Download Social Security Code (English)

4. Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code, 2020

• Covers: Factories, contract labour, mines, construction safety, migrant workers, women employees, working hours, and leaves.

• Key Features:

  • Standardizes safety regulations across sectors (factories, docks, construction, mines, transport, etc.).

  • Mandatory annual health checkups for specific categories.

  • Enhanced safety for women and contract/gig workers.

• Acts Merged: Factories Act (1948), Mines Act (1952), Contract Labour Act (1970), Inter-State Migrant Workers Act (1979), and others.

• Official PDF: Download OSH Code (English)

📄 Labour Standing Orders (renamed/merged)

The new Industrial Relations Code combines and updates the previous Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946. Model Standing Orders published under this code set out uniform employment terms for different sectors.
Model Standing Orders Info: Ministry Portal

Why Are the New Labour Codes Important?

• Simplify Compliance: Replaces 29 old laws with 4 codes, slashing paperwork and regulatory confusion for employers and employees alike.

• Universal Worker Protection: Brings rights to minimum wage, social security, and safer working conditions to over 500 million workers, including gig and platform workers.

• Faster Dispute Resolution: Streamlined labour court systems and timelines for resolving disputes.

• Ease of Doing Business: Single registration and return for all Codes, supporting both industry and worker.

• Women & Vulnerable Workers’ Rights: Focus on equal remuneration, maternity benefits, and safer working hours for women workers.

• Contemporary Needs: Covers contract/gig workers, enables four-day workweek (by mutual consent), supports new businesses with phase-wise rollouts.

📥 Where to Download Official New Labour Codes (PDF)

• Labour Ministry's Official Compilation:
  New Labour Code for New India (PDF)
  (Includes details and explanatory notes on all four codes)

• Labour Codes Section (for all latest acts, rules, and notifications):
  Labour Ministry Codes Portal

To summarize:
The new Indian Labour Codes—Wage Code, IR Code, Social Security Code, and OSH Code—are now the law of the land, replacing a complex web of older acts. They greatly improve rights, protections, and the ease of compliance for all employers and employees in India