Labour Law Reforms in India

Labour market flexibility is one of the most closely debated public policy issues in India. This book provides a theoretical framework to understand the subject, and empirically examines to what extent India's 'jobless growth' may be attributed to labour laws. There is a pervasive view that the country's low manufacturing base and inability to generate jobs is primarily due to rigid labour laws. Therefore, job creation is sought to be boosted by reforming labour laws. However, the book argues that if labour laws are made flexible, then there are adverse consequences for workers: dismantled job security weakens workers' bargaining power, incapacitates trade union movement, skews class distribution of output, dilutes workers' rights, and renders them vulnerable. The book: - identifies and critically examines the theory underlying the labour market flexibility (LMF) argument - employs innovative empirical methods to test the LMF argument - offers an overview of the organised labour market in India - comprehensively discusses the proposed/instituted labour law reforms in the country - contextualises the LMF argument in a macroeconomic setting - discusses the political economy of labour law reforms in India. This book will interest scholars and researchers in economics, development studies, and public policy as well as economists, policymakers, and teachers of human resource management.

Anamitra Roychowdhury teaches economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Previously, he taught at St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi. He completed his doctoral studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University and his areas of interest include development economics, labour economics, Indian economy and macroeconomics. He has published a number of research articles in many renowned international and national journals including International Labour Review, Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Economic and Political Weekly and Social Scientist. His commentaries on contemporary economic issues have appeared in Global Labour Column, Mainstream and Macroscan.

List of Figures. List of Tables. Foreword. Acknowledgements. List of Abbreviations. Introduction 1. Present Status of Labour Laws in India and their Proposed Amendments 2. A Critical Examination of the Labour Market Flexibility Debate in India 3. Explanation of Jobless Growth in Indian Manufacturing and Trends in Labour Conditions 4. Identifying the Theoretical Structure Underlying Labour Market Flexibility and its Critical Examination 5. Some Market Clearing Models on Labour Market Flexibility 6. Effectiveness of Labour Market Flexibility in Face of Effective Demand Constraint 7. Labour Market Flexibility in an Open Economy Context 8. Concluding Remarks: Labour Market Flexibility and the Proposal for Laissez-Faire Capitalism. Bibliography