Locked Out Of Rights: Strikes, Lockouts, And The Dilution Of Worker Protections In India With Reference To The Industrial Relations Code, 2020
- IJLLR Journal
- Oct 4
- 1 min read
Ojasvi & Anushka, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies- TC, affiliated to GGSIP University
ABSTRACT
This paper critically examines the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 to assess whether its provisions on strikes and lockouts strengthen or dilute worker protections in India. By consolidating earlier legislations the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 the Code was projected as a simplification of labor law. However, a doctrinal and socio-legal analysis suggests that the reforms tilt decisively towards employer interests. The central hypothesis advanced here is that the IRC, 2020, by restructuring the legal framework for strikes and lockouts, effectively dilutes workers’ collective bargaining power and constitutional protections, thereby locking workers out of their rights. This hypothesis is tested through statutory interpretation, judicial precedents, and case studies. Findings indicate that extended notice requirements, higher thresholds for government approval of layoffs, and procedural hurdles significantly reduce the frequency and effectiveness of strikes, while employers retain greater freedom to deploy lockouts strategically. The analysis reveals that constitutional jurisprudence already limited the right to strike. The IRC, 2020 entrenches these limitations further, prioritizing industrial peace over substantive labour rights.
Keywords: Industrial Relations Code 2020; strikes; lockouts; collective bargaining; labour rights; worker protections; industrial democracy; Indian labour law; trade unions; ease of doing business.
