Cracking The Code II: The New Central Labour Rules At A Glance

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE CODES

In a significant stride towards operationalising India’s consolidated labour law framework, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has formally notified the central rules under the four Labour Codes – namely, the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026¹ (“CoW Rules”), the Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026² (“CSS Rules”), the Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026³ (“IR Rules”) and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026⁴ (“OSH Rules”), which were all formally published on May 8, 2026.

These newly issued rules are currently applicable to establishments for which "appropriate government" is the Central Government under the Codes, such as railways, mines, air transport service, telecommunications, banking and insurance companies. Furthermore, for the specific purposes of the Code on Social Security, the Central Government also functions as the appropriate government qua the organizations having establishments