Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Education and Labor Minister V. Sivankutty on Tuesday reiterated that the state will not implement the central labor codes any time soon and stressed that workers’ rights remain the government’s top priority. He announced that a meeting will be held today with trade union representatives to discuss the issue.
Speaking to the media, the minister said that Kerala will proceed only after thorough consultation. He also confirmed that a National Labor Conclave will be held in Thiruvananthapuram on December 19, bringing together prominent trade union leaders, legal experts, and labor ministers from non-BJP ruled states.
The central government has notified that four labor codes – the Wage Code, the Industrial Relations Code, the Social Security Code, and the Occupational Safety and Health Code – will come into effect from November 21, 2025. Since the central government began pushing the reforms in 2019, states have been under pressure to enact regulations.
However, Kerala has maintained its position. The minister recalled that although draft rules were issued as part of the initial process, the state refrained from unilaterally implementing them. A large workshop of trade unions, management, and legal experts was held on July 2, 2022, where the unions strongly criticized the labor codes, calling them anti-labor. Based on this feedback, the state decided not to proceed.
Sivankutty said that Kerala has not taken any further action in the past three years, which indicates its continued opposition. He further stated that during the meeting of state labor ministers in Delhi on November 11 and 12, he directly conveyed Kerala’s objections to the union labor minister. Although the union minister had assured that a meeting with trade unions would be convened immediately to address concerns, the central government issued the notification without doing so.
Kerala will host the upcoming Labor Conclave to highlight this issue at the national level. Its purpose is to foster greater discussion and garner support. Reiterating the state’s stance, Sivankutty said that Kerala will take decisions only after ensuring full protection of workers’ rights, and pointed out that most other states have already submitted their labor code regulations to the central government.
