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An authoritative handbook on India's four Labour Codes and accompanying Tamil Nadu Rules

Born out of the need for agency and assertion of rights by workers and trade union members in smaller towns and villages in the state

Demystifies the laws for the working class, and suggests how they can directly influence better law-making

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India's Labour Codes and Tamil Nadu Rules:

What it means for workers and their rights

P Bala Murugan, P Selvi, M Shreela

with an overview by Babu Mathew and Madhulika T

Three lawyer-activists with decades of specialised experience in workers' rights, women, migrant, and child rights come together with a resolve to take India's four new Labour Codes, which condense 29 existing central labour laws, to the people — so they can read and decide for themselves what is in it for them, what is not, and demand what is right.

With a special focus on Tamil Nadu, this handbook also serves to illustrate what states can (or should not) do, not only while framing accompanying Rules, but also by way of amendments or opposition to retrogressive clauses in the principal Acts. Labour is a concurrent subject in the Indian Constitution. This allows for more progressive versions of the central laws in different states, to be carried forward through sound judicial precedents.

What others are saying...

As the architect of the Indian Constitution has taught us, the first step towards organised agitation is to educate ourselves. This is all the more important in complex matters such as labour rights. The authors have done a sterling job of decoding the Labour Codes, laying bare their pitfalls, and proposing a way forward. This is an invaluable resource for the working class and its supporters.

Jean Drèze Development economist and activist

Meet the authors

P Bala Murugan

Bala Murugan Palaniyandi holds a PhD and Master's degree in law. He has worked over three decades as a child rights and worker rights activist. He is a founding member of the Tamil Nadu Alliance, a coalition of over 200 NGOs addressing workers' issues, including those of inter-state migrant workers.

P Selvi

Selvi is a lawyer in the Madras High Court, with an LLM (Master of Law) from the University of Essex, England. She specialises in civil, constitutional, family law, and human rights law. She writes on socio-legal issues in the media, and is a trained and accredited mediator at the Madras High Court.

M Shreela

Shreela is a Chennai-based lawyer focused on the practice of labour law and working class movement building. She has prior experience in journalism and community organising.

Contact us

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