Model Standing Orders Under Labour Codes: Accepting The Changed Dynamics

Introduction

With the consolidation of several labour legislations into codes, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 got subsumed into the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 ("IR Code") with two other legislations. IR Code, under Section 29, confers powers on the Central Government to make Model Standing Orders ("MSO") relating to conditions of service and other incidental matters. MSO shall be applicable to all industrial establishments employing 300 or more workers and who are covered under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 ("OSHWC Code"). Establishment, as per the OSHWC Code, includes a place where any industry, trade, business, manufacturing, or occupation is carried on and where 10 or more workers are employed¹.