Shram Shakti Niti 2025 : Draft labour policy steps back to Manusmiriti

In a first-of-its-kind exercise, the Union government released a draft policy on labour and employment on Wednesday (October 8) titled “Shram Shakti Niti 2025”. It also marked another departure – a “shift” from the way labour and employment issues were perceived and governed since Independence.

Work on such a policy started during the United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) second term. The new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, which took over in 2014, did not carry that forward. Instead, it sprang a surprise.

Quite clearly, there were no consultations with any stakeholder – trade unions and Opposition political parties. Even the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) -affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), considered a close ally of the government, was scrambling to formulate a response a day later, on October 9.

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Shift from regulator to facilitator

One significant shift, marked as a “paradigm shift” in the draft, is in “labour governance”. The role of the nodal agency, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, shifted “from regulation and inspection to facilitation and empowerment”. Which means, the ministry has become an “employment facilitator”.

The draft explains that in the new role, the ministry will enable “convergence among workers, employers, and training institutions through trusted, AI-driven systems”. The digital platform called “National Career Service (NCS)”, launched in 2015 to connect job seekers with employers, skill providers and career counselors, will play a key role by providing “job matching, credential verification and skill alignment”.

Currently, the ministry described its “mission” as “formulating and implementing policies /programmes/schemes/projects for providing social security and welfare, regulating conditions of work, occupational health and safety of workers, eliminating child labour, promoting harmonious industrial relations, ensuring enforcement of labour laws and promoting employment services”.

That would no longer be once the draft is adopted. The last date for submitting objections is October 27.

Onus on others

The draft is a clear message that the ministry, or the Union government, will recede to the background, passing the responsibility for workers’ rights and well-being to the state governments (“labour” is in the Concurrent List) and the market (industry/employer).

State governments’ role is specified: “Each State would constitute a dedicated mission to implement reforms, monitor outcomes, and coordinate with local governments.” ‘Reforms’ here refers to the four labour codes the Union government passed in 2019 and 2020, but did not or could not implement (more of it later).

The role of the market, however, is implied in the very formulation of the ministry becoming “employment facilitator”.

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Towards ancient concepts

The other significant shift, though not described as a “paradigm shift”, is in the policy’s anchoring in the Hindu concept of dharma, rajadharma, and ethos articulated in the ancient Hindu texts of Manusmiriti, Yajnavalkyasmriti, Naradasmriti, Sukraniti, and Arthashastra.

To make sure that this message is driven home, the draft notes: “The Shram Shakti Niti 2025 draws inspiration from these indigenous frameworks while embedding them in the constitutional and international context of the modern State.”

It explains the rationale: “By aligning these timeless values with the Labour Codes – particularly the Code on Wages (2019) and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (2020) – the policy reclaims India’s own ethical and intellectual lineage in the governance of labour. This synthesis of tradition and modernity established labour not merely as a sectoral concern but as a moral and developmental commitment of the nation.”

It adds: “Accordingly, Shram Shakti Niti 2025 envisioned the world of work as a moral compact between the State, industry, and workers – rooted in dharma (duty), fairness, and social harmony – thereby reaffirming India’s civilisational belief that the dignity of labour was inseparable from the dignity of life.

Hindu ideas in Constitution

In short, the Union government would seek to infuse ancient Hindu ideas and ideals into the constitutional framework, however out of place that it might sound.

The concepts of “dharma” and “Manusmiriti” go back to the time when kings and queens ruled India, and caste and gender discrimination were the order of the day. Here is what two eminent jurists said about these concepts.

Former Supreme Court judge (late) PB Sawant, in 2020, wrote, “The inherently inhuman, iniquitous and unjust ancient texts like Manusmriti are an anathema to the aims and objectives of our constitution. Dr Ambedkar (chief architect of the Constitution) burnt the MS (Manusmriti) in 1927…”

Dr BR Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution of India, had written decades earlier that, “At the root of the Hindu Social System lies Dharma as prescribed in ‘Manusmriti’. Such being the case, I do not think it possible to abolish inequality in the Hindu Society unless the existing foundation of the ‘Smriti’ religion is removed and a better one laid in its place. I, however, despair of the Hindu Society being able to reconstruct on such a better foundation.” (Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, Vol 17, 2013 )

How will they gel?

How the two – ancient Hindu concepts and the modern Constitution of India – will gel is not clear. The Constitution doesn’t recognise discrimination based on caste or creed, bestows equality before the law and equal opportunity to all in every sphere of activities, and promises to secure social, political, and economic justice and dignity for all.

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As per the draft, the new “vision” is to “create an inclusive, equitable, and resilient world of work where every worker enjoys dignity, protection, and opportunity, and where India’s economic growth remains people-centric and planet-sensitive”.

To translate that into action, seven “strategic objectives” have been listed: (i) universal social security, (ii) occupational safety and health, (iii) employment and future readiness, (iv) women and youth empowerment, (v) ease of compliance and formalisation, (vi) technology and green transitions, and (vii) convergence and good Governance.

Implementation structure

A three-tier implementation structure is provided – at the national, state and district levels.

Five “key strategic interventions” listed to realise the “vision” are: universal and portable social security; occupational Safety and Health, skill and Employment Linkages, women and youth empowerment, ease of compliance and formalisation, technology and green transitions and convergence and Good Governance.

Further, the implementation would be in three phases:

• Phase I (2025–27): Institutional setup, social-security integration, and NCS-DPI pilots for AI-based job matching, Education to Employment Career lounges pilots.

• Phase II (2027–30): Expansion and convergence - nationwide roll out of Universal Social Security Account, skill-credit systems, and district-level Employment Facilitation Cells.

• Phase III (Beyond 2030): Consolidation - paperless governance, predictive analytics, and continuous policy renewal.

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Fluff as policy prescriptions

All the above are fluff – and there is more of it in the draft. They mean nothing for several reasons.

Firstly, the government had passed four labour codes – The Code on Wages, 2019, The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, The Code on Social Security, 2020 and The Industrial Relations Code, 2020. The draft rules to implement those were circulated in 2020 but not notified.

These Codes promised to provide universal minimum wages; universal social security, including for gig and platform workers, by setting up the Social Security Fund; ensure health and safety and protect employers’ interest vis-à-vis employers – the very ones the draft policy talks about ensuring.

But the actual provisions of the four Codes were to the contrary. That is why 10 of the 11 central trade unions opposed these Codes and prevented their implementation until now. They have been going on nationwide strikes from time to time, the last in July 2025. The only trade union to skip such strikes is the RSS-affiliated BMS, which was not entirely happy with these Codes either but did not admit it in public.

It was this opposition that prevented any of the Codes from being operationalised so far. Yet, the ministry told the Rajya Sabha in July 2025 that it had no plans to amend those – indicating a stalemate it was no longer willing to resolve.

Diluted role

Second, if the government was not enforcing its own laws (the four Codes) “to provide decent working conditions and improved quality of life for workers” as it claimed, why would it do so in its substantially diluted role as a facilitator (“national connector between opportunity and talent”, as the draft policy describes) and how?

Third, as mentioned earlier, the responsibility to “implement reforms” (read the four unimplementable labour Codes) was passed on to state governments.

It even set up an internal committee “to nudge” states to align their laws to the four Codes in July this year, but a few states refused to do so – asking, instead, the Union government to implement its own laws first.

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What do trade unions think?

The BMS went into a huddle a day after the draft was released. Its General Secretary, Ravindra Himte, told The Federal yesterday that their statement would be ready soon.

KN Umesh, National Secretary of CPI(M)-affiliated trade union CITU, said the Shram Shakti Niti 2025 is an attempt at “backdoor entry” of the four labour Codes the government passed in 2019 and 2020 but failed to implement because of strong protests from 10 of 11 central trade unions. “Since the legislative regime change failed, the Centre is trying to bring it through a policy regime change,” he said.

Umesh lamented that as a facilitator, the role of the Ministry of Labour & Employment would shrink, enabling industry but it could not bring social justice to workers.

Stronger reactions from other trade unions and Opposition parties are expected in the next few days.