New Delhi, February 12 The Parliament passed the Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill, 2026, on Thursday, aiming to provide legal clarity.
Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, while piloting the bill in the Rajya Sabha, said, "When the Industrial Relations Code of 2020 was passed, the three Acts were subsumed within it."
He informed the House that these three laws were the Trade Union Act of 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act of 1946, and the Industrial Dispute Act of 1947.
He explained that the government has the power to repeal these three laws, and there is no dispute in this regard.
"I am not making any changes to the system. This amendment is being brought to provide legal clarity. We have not enabled the Code that repeals these three laws. The government can also do it itself. It is solely for providing legal clarity," he said.
He said that in this case, there is no need for scrutiny by the standing committee, and no changes have been introduced.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that this reflects poorly on the government, as the amendment is being brought so late, and the government is doing so after the Supreme Court asked it to do so.
He said that his party supports the bill.
Other members who spoke on the bill in the Rajya Sabha were Dola Sen (TMC), V Sivadasan (CPI-M), M Thambidurai (AIADMK), Niranjan Bishi (BJD), A R Reddy Alla (YSRCP) and R Girirajan (DMK).
The bill was passed by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the bill was also passed by voice vote in the Lok Sabha.
The bill would help avoid any "future unwarranted complications" regarding the continuity of certain laws that have been replaced by the Industrial Relations Code of 2020.
Responding to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the bill, Mandaviya said that the four Labour Codes, which were implemented nearly three months ago, ensure a guarantee of minimum wages.
These Codes also ensure compulsory issuance of appointment letters, as well as uniform wages for the same work, irrespective of gender, he said.