The Ministry of Labor and Employment pre-published draft rules on the four labor codes on Thursday to seek stakeholders’ feedback. The government intends to fully operationalize the four codes from April 1, 2026 across the country in one go.
The four labor codes — Code on Wages, 2019, Industrial Relations Code, 2020, Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 — were notified on Thursday.
Social security for gig workers
In their draft rules, the Center proposed that to be eligible for benefits under these codes, gig workers or platform workers must be engaged as one “for not less than 90 days with an aggregator, or in the case of multiple aggregators, not less than one hundred and twenty days, in the last financial year.”
But what if a gig worker is engaged with multiple aggregators? To explain this rule, the Center elaborated:
(i) A gig worker or a platform worker will be considered to be engaged with an aggregator for one day, if he has earned income, irrespective of the amount, for such work rendered.
with the aggregator on that calendar day;
(ii) In case of working with multiple aggregators, the days of engagement of a gig worker or a platform worker shall be calculated across the aggregators in a cumulative manner;
(iii) If a gig worker or a platform worker is engaged with three aggregators on a particular calendar day, this shall count as three days.
Center seeks feedback
Now, the states are also in the process of formally publishing the rules under the four codes as the labor is a concurrent subject, news agency PTI reported.
The ministry has given stakeholders 30 days from the publication of the draft rules to provide feedback on the Industrial Relations Code, 2020.
The ministry has given 45 days for providing feedback on the remaining three codes.
Commenting on the development, Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, said in the statement, “The release of the draft rules under the four Labor Codes marks a key step in operationalising India’s labor reforms.”
“By offering clear and practical implementation pathways, the rules help industry prepare with confidence, simplify compliance, and support sustainable growth, while strengthening worker protections,” Banerjee said.
Earlier this month, addressing CII IndiaEdge 2025, Union Labor & Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said draft rules under the four labor codes will be pre-published shortly.
He had also said earlier that the central government as well as the states had pre-published draft rules, but that was a long time ago, and now there is a need for bringing draft rules again in sync with present times.
The minister also highlighted the government’s intent to meet the target of providing social security to 100 crore workers by March 2026, up from existing 94 crore in the country.
The social security coverage had expanded from 19 percent in 2015 to over 64 percent in 2025.
Since labor is a concurrent subject, appropriate governments — Center and states — will have to notify the rules under the four codes to enforce these fully across the country.
The enforcement of the codes will mark the next transformative step — broadening worker protection, easing business operations and promoting a pro-worker labor ecosystem.
Mandaviya also highlighted various provisions of the labor codes like mandatory appointment letter, free health check-up for workers of the age of 40 years and above, equal work equal pay and equal opportunity for women for work in different shifts.
