Parliament Diary

Two Bills were introduced in Lok Sabha today: 

• The Code on Wages, 2019 which seeks to regulate wage and bonus payments in all employments where any industry, trade, business, or manufacture is carried out. The Code replaces the following four laws: (i) the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, (ii) the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, (iii) the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and (iv) the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.

Further, to know how the 2019 Code compares to the lapsed Code on Wages, 2017 and the recommendations given by the Standing Committee on Labour in 2018, read our comparison here. 

• The Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2019 which applies to establishments employing at least 10 workers, and to all mines and docks. Further, it makes special provisions for certain types of establishments and classes of employees, such as factories, mines, and building and construction workers.

The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed in Lok Sabha today. To know about the issues to consider within the Bill, you can watch our short explainer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVvgSx2xKwA  

Further, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill was discussed in Lok Sabha. The Bill amends the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 which provides special procedures to deal with terrorist activities, among other things. One of the amendments being brought about by this Bill is that the government  may designate individuals as terrorists if: 

(i) commits or participates in acts of terrorism 

(ii) prepares for terrorism 

(iii) promotes terrorism

(iv) is otherwise involved in terrorism.  

In Rajya Sabha today, the discussion on the Finance Bill, 2019 concluded with a response from the Finance Minister.