Constitutional Framework and the Governance of Informal Labour in India

Abstract

Abstract India's informal sector workforce is estimated to be approximately ninety percent of its total economic workforce (ILO & IHD, 2024). This massive scale of labour employed in the informal sector makes it a crucial backbone of the Indian economy. However, it faces extreme challenges with reference to its visibility, wages and social security. This segment is the most neglected and does not receive any benefits from the government. Labour policies are devised with a focus on the formal sector, whereas the the informal labour is largely unrecognized and is thus called the shadow economy. Paradoxically the informal sector contributes significantly to the GDP of the nation. However, it is nowhere at the centre stage of policy formulation thereby rendering the informal sector being neglected from the global parlance. The social welfare and labour policies of the international organizations like the ILO and UN are not applicable on the informal sector due to its exclusion from policy planning by the respective State authorities and the government. This paper explores how India’s constitutional provisions and federal governance regulate the informal sector in India. It studies the practical state of the informal labour in India in the light of the recent consolidation of labour laws into four Labour codes namely, The Code on Wages; The Industrial Relations Code; The Social Security Code and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code. The analysis concludes with observations regarding the obstacles of enforcement and policy instructions to align the codes with constitutional promises of social justice. The study aims to evaluate the constitutional orientation and possible implications of implementation of the newly introduced labour regulations by reviewing constitutional and existing policy frameworks