Social Justice And Labour Rights In Indian Jurisprudence
- IJLLR Journal
- Nov 13, 2025
- 1 min read
Virender Negi, Professor, UILS, Panjab University, Chandigarh.
Rahul Sadera, Research Scholar, Department of Laws, Panjab University Chandigarh.
ABSTRACT
“Labour is not a commodity.” — ILO Declaration of Philadelphia (1944)
Without recognizing the judiciary's critical role in transforming constitutional ideas into practical social justice guarantees, it is challenging to understand the development of Indian labor law. Although the Indian Constitution does not specifically proclaim labor rights to be fundamental rights, the Indian Supreme Court and High Courts have construed Articles 14, 19, 21, 23, and 39 to embrace labor welfare within the context of equality and human dignity. By elevating the "right to livelihood," "fair wages," and "humane working conditions" to the status of human rights through landmark decisions, the judiciary has brought domestic jurisprudence into line with international human rights standards like the ILO Conventions and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The article critically analyses how judicial interpretation has operationalized the Directive Principles of State Policy by converting labor rights from statutory entitlements into enforceable human rights. It ends by arguing the case for a judicial reaffirmation or constitutional amendment that would publicly acknowledge "labour" as a fundamental human right within India's constitutional framework.
Keywords: Labour Rights, Judicial Interpretation, Social Justice, Human Rights, Indian Constitution, Article 21, Supreme Court, ILO.
