New Delhi: The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), a prominent trade union, has announced its decision not to participate in the nationwide strike called by some other unions for July 9, 2025, over the new labour codes. The BMS has strongly condemned the strike, terming it “purely politically motivated” and urged its affiliates to abstain.
The strike, slated for tomorrow, July 9, aims to protest the four new labour codes enacted by the Indian government in 2019 and 2020. These codes, namely the Code on Wages 2019, the Code on Social Security 2020, the Occupational Safety Health and Working Condition Code 2020, and the Industrial Relations Code 2020, replaced 29 existing labour laws.
The BMS, however, has expressed its support for two of these new codes: the Code on Wages 2019 and the Code on Social Security 2020. According to the union, these are “historic” legislative reforms.
“The Code on Wages 2019 is a landmark step as it empowers the Central Government to fix a floor wage for the first time, and grants state governments the authority to set minimum wages at or above this floor,” a BMS statement elaborated. The union highlighted the provision for minimum wage revision every five years and a significant change that extends minimum wage entitlement to any worker performing 8 hours of duty, regardless of whether their employment is specifically notified.
Similarly, the BMS has lauded the Code on Social Security 2020 for its groundbreaking inclusion of social security provisions for Gig and Platform workers. A key improvement, as per the BMS, is the assurance of treatment at ESIC hospitals for workers in cases of illness or accident, even if their employer has failed to deposit the mandated ESIC contributions – a previous impediment to accessing healthcare.
While welcoming these two codes, the BMS has suggested “necessary amendments” to the remaining two – the Industrial Relations Code 2020 and the Occupational Safety Health and Working Condition Code 2020 – following comprehensive discussions with all stakeholders. The union acknowledged that the government has held some discussions with trade unions and employers on these matters, but stressed that “this is not sufficient.”
The BMS has called upon the government to act with greater seriousness and expedite discussions with all parties to amend the two contentious codes. It accused certain other trade unions of attempting to “derive political benefits” from the situation and “misleading workers” into participating in the July 9 strike.
“The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh vehemently opposes this strike and appeals to its unions not to participate in any such strike on July 9, 2025,” the statement read. The BMS has also urged the Indian government to swiftly complete the amendment process for the Industrial Relations Code 2020 and the Occupational Safety and Health Code 2020.
