State Minister V Sivankutty announced here on Monday that Kerala will conduct a conclave to protest the Center’s amalgamation of 29 laws into four new labor rules. The “Labour Conclave 2025” is set to take place in the state capital on December 19 and will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Sivankutty told reporters today. Sivankutty intensified his criticism of the recently implemented labor laws, calling them “anti-worker” and a “violation of federal principles” and claiming that a number of its provisions violate workers’ rights and weaken state authority.
“The conclave aims to formulate alternative policy approaches to protect the interests of workers and states within the federal framework,” stated the state labor minister. As part of a planned protest against the labor rules enforced by the Center, labor ministers from other states, including Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, and Telangana, would attend the conclave, Sivankutty continued. It is also anticipated that Industries Minister P Rajeev and Kerala Finance and Law Minister K N Balagopal will participate. Sivankutty provided more information, stating that the Advocate General, academicians, trade union leaders, legal experts, and former Supreme Court justices will participate in two crucial technical sessions that will take place during the conclave.
Advocate General K Gopalakrishna Kurup will chair the first session, which will concentrate on the effects of the labor rules. Justice Gopala Gowda, a former Supreme Court judge, will give the keynote address. In light of Kerala’s labor policy, the second session will look at different approaches to opposing labor rules.
According to the minister, the conclave will end with a policy announcement intended to protect the state’s interests. Later, Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is anticipated to meet with representatives of many central trade unions that oppose the labor rules and submit a memorandum outlining the requests stated in the policy proclamation.
All four labor codes, which have been delayed since 2020, were just notified by the union administration, bringing about significant reforms like mandatory appointment letters for all workers, universal social security coverage for gig workers, and statutory minimum wages with timely payments across industries. Sivankutty reaffirmed that despite enacting new labor laws, the state government would never take an anti-worker posture.
