Keralam's Draft Report on the Labour Codes: Higher Minimum Wages, Wider Bonus Eligibility
A committee set up by the Keralam (Kerala) government submitted a draft report on how the State should implement the four Labour Codes. The State Labour Minister handed it to the Chief Minister on November 4, 2026.
The four Labour Codes were brought into force by the Union government in November 2025, but Keralam has not yet framed its own rules under them. Labour is a Concurrent List subject, so States must frame rules for many parts of the Codes.
The committee was formed after a meeting on October 22. It had the Labour Commissioner as convener, the Law Additional Secretary, seven trade union representatives and Labour department officials. It held discussions for 10 days.
Key recommendations:
expand the family unit used to calculate minimum wages from three members to five, by including the worker's parents; this would raise minimum wages;
free medical check-ups for workers in hazardous (dangerous) jobs;
strict safety rules wherever women are allowed to work at night;
bring more workers under benefits such as bonus;
give the State government more say in matters like lockouts and lay-offs.
Earlier, in January 2026, a government-appointed expert committee chaired by former Supreme Court judge V. Gopal Gowda had recommended legislative amendments on the Codes.
Code on Wages, 2019
The Code on Wages, 2019 is the single law that now decides how much workers must be paid, when they must be paid, what bonus they get, and that men and women must be paid equally for the same work. It replaced four older wage laws with one Code. Its biggest change is that every employee in every kind of work is now covered by the right to a minimum wage, not just workers in a government list of jobs.
Keralam's draft report uses the space the Code on Wages gives States. By counting a worker's family as five members instead of three, the State's minimum wage calculation would rise. By widening bonus coverage, more workers would get a share of profits. These are State rules made within the national framework of the Code.
Industrial Relations Code, 2020
The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 is the law that governs the relationship between employers, workers and trade unions. It covers how unions are registered and recognised, how disputes are settled, when workers can strike, when employers can declare a lockout, and when employers can lay off, retrench (cut jobs) or close a factory. It brought three older laws into one Code.
Keralam's draft report asks for "more elbow room" for the State government on lockouts and lay-offs. These are governed by the Industrial Relations Code, which allows the appropriate government to shape rules and thresholds. The State is using that space to give workers more job security.
- Four Labour Codes: Code on Wages (2019), Industrial Relations Code (2020), Code on Social Security (2020), OSHWC Code (2020)
- The four Codes replaced 29 central labour laws and came into force from November 21, 2025
- Keralam's committee: Labour Commissioner as convener, 7 trade union representatives; worked for 10 days
- Proposed change to the minimum wage family unit: from 3 to 5 members (adding parents)
- Expert committee on legislative amendments chaired by former Supreme Court judge V. Gopal Gowda (report in January 2026)
- 15th Indian Labour Conference (1957): need-based minimum wage for 3 consumption units
- Bonus under the Code on Wages: minimum 8.33%, maximum 20%
- Labour is in the Concurrent List (Entries 22 and 24)