The Kerala government has demanded that the Union Labour Ministry’s draft labour policy ‘Shram Shakti Niti 2025’ be withdrawn, with Labour Minister V. Sivankutty calling it an extremely anti-labour policy which rejects constitutionally enshrined labour rights and the concept of social justice. He alleged that the policy aimed at snatching away the rights of the States.
In a press statement issued in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday (October 30, 2025), Mr. Sivankutty said that citing ancient texts such as Manusmriti and concepts like ‘Rajadharma’ and ‘Shramadharma’ instead of the Constitution as the basis for a policy document on labour rights was condemnable and regressive.
‘Against social justice’
“The policy is part of an attempt to reduce workers from being ‘citizens with rights’ to being ‘submissive slaves.’ Bringing back such ideas that justify caste-based division of labour is against social justice,” he said.
The Minister said that employment and labour welfare were part of the Concurrent List of the Constitution. But the draft policy completely bypassed the State. It would lead to ranking the States through mechanisms such as the ‘Labour and Employment Policy Evaluation Index’ and imposing the pro-corporate policies of the Centre. This was a blatant violation of federal principles, he said.
Mr. Sivankutty alleged that the policy was completely silent on the most basic needs of workers such as job security, decent minimum wage, and regular employment. The measures aimed at weakening enforcement mechanisms would only help increase labour exploitation, he said.
Published – October 30, 2025 05:06 pm IST
