Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code, 2020 and interstate women migrants: a gender integrative evaluation

The original forty-four central labour laws in India have been merged into four labour codes: the Code on Wages, 2019 (CoW); the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (IRC); the Code on Social Security, 2020 (CSS); and the Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code). In this discussion, I highlight the general concerns and specific limitations of these new labour codes, particularly the OSH Code, by examining its applicability to the most vulnerable section of migrants: the interstate seasonal migrant women belonging to marginalised communities. This review aims to highlight the lacunae in the new labour codes, in terms of perspective and enaction, for potential policy modifications.