West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier said that the Centre’s new labour code will not be implemented in the state. Now, a copy of the new labour law has reached the state where new ‘conditions’ have been mentioned for disbursing funds for 100-day work. The Trinamool Congress supremo tore the paper related to this at a public meeting in Cooch Behar on Tuesday, calling the conditions imposed by Centre ‘disrespectful’.

Mamata Banerjee is currently on a two-day visit to Cooch Behar district of Bengal. While attending a public rally, the CM attacked the Centre by raising one issue after another. However, her tone of protest was most intense against the Centre’s new labour law.

The CM said, “They sent us a notice three, four days ago. About the new labour code of the Centre. They imposed new conditions to pay for 100 days of work. We do not accept these conditions. This is disrespectful. So, I tore the paper.”
Mamata further said, “We have not received Rs 51,617 crores for 100 days of work yet. We do not need mercy, we will provide alternative work. We will come to power again, we will arrange 100 days of work ourselves under the Karmashri scheme.”

What is Karmashree scheme of West Bengal?

The Karmashree scheme is a West Bengal state government initiative launched in 2024 to provide at least 50 days of guaranteed wage employment to rural unskilled worker households each financial year. It functions as a state-funded alternative to the central government’s MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), which faced implementation issues in the state.

What is Centre’s new Labour Law?

The Union Government has recently rolled out four new Labour Codes (Wages, Industrial Relations, Social Security, and Occupational Safety and Health) consolidating 29 laws to simplify compliance, enhance worker rights, and boost ease of doing business by unifying definitions, expanding social security (EPF, ESI, gig workers), mandating appointment letters, setting national floor wages, and decriminalising minor offenses. These codes aim for a modern framework, covering organised and unorganised sectors with new provisions for gig workers, equal pay, and flexible layoffs for smaller firms, with full implementation expected in 2026.

For the first time, India’s fast-growing gig workforce, which includes delivery executives, cab drivers, freelance service providers and digital platform workers, has been legally recognised. Under the Social Security Code, aggregators must contribute 1–2% of their annual turnover (capped at 5% of worker payouts) to newly established welfare funds.

The four labour codes collectively represent a shift from colonial-era legislation to a unified, digital-age system. Till now there were different pay structures for the same position in different states, different amount of labour and remuneration even though working in the same organisation on a state basis. Different rules applied even for the safety of workers. To overcome these complications, the Narendra Modi government passed the proposal for a new labour law this year. The new labour law proposes to introduce four new labour codes by consolidating 29 different labour laws of different states of the country. The new labor law came into effect from November.

However, whether the new code will be implemented or not in a state will depend on the decision of the respective state government. West Bengal government had earlier informed that the new code would not be followed. Although new rules have been introduced in some private organisations operating in the state.

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