Air India engineers’ union welcomes new labour codes, calls reforms ‘historic and visionary’
In New Delhi on Nov 24, the Air India Aircraft Engineers Association welcomed the new Labour Codes as a “bold, revolutionary and historic” milestone for India’s workforce, asserting that the reforms will give workers a substantial boost in welfare and social security.
General Secretary S.N. Bhatt told LatestNewsX that setting a guaranteed, time‑bound minimum wage and tightening the base salary framework—along with bringing provident fund and gratuity fully under a cost‑to‑company scheme—creates a far stronger footing for employees’ long‑term financial safety.
He explained that counting 50 % of the CTC as basic salary will raise both pension contributions and gratuity payouts, calling this a “visionary decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
Addressing concerns over women’s safety and workplace equality, Bhatt highlighted that the new codes mandate equal pay for equal work and ban gender discrimination outright. He also clarified the night‑shift provisions, noting that employers must obtain explicit consent from female employees and provide robust safety safeguards.
The union chief welcomed the government’s extension of social security to over 400 million workers, including gig and platform workers as well as the informal sector, saying it underlines the Prime Minister’s pledge to protect worker dignity.
Bhatt pointed out features such as double pay for overtime, free annual health screenings for workers over 40, and the possibility of a four‑day work week with 12‑hour shifts, framing them as clear signals that worker wellbeing remains a priority.
The Union Government has rolled out four Labour Codes – the Code on Wages (2019), the Industrial Relations Code (2020), the Code on Social Security (2020), and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (2020) – replacing 29 older statutes with a single, streamlined framework intended to ease compliance and strengthen employee rights.
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