Author – Nikita Patidar, Student at Institute Of Law, Nirma University
TO THE POINT
India was placed in Rating 5 in the 2025 ITUC Global Rights Index, denoting no guarantee of labour rights. This article analyses India’s constitutional, statutory, and international commitments, enumerates systemic gaps—particularly for informal and gig workers—and proposes legal reforms to regain compliance with global labour standards.
ABSTRACT
The 2025 ITUC Global Rights Index placed India at Rating 5, with countries where there is no guarantee of workers’ rights. This piece examines the constitutional and legal aspects of this erosion. Despite having a strong constitutional regime for workers’ rights and four combined labour codes, enforcement failures at a systemic level continue. The discussion points to legal loopholes in access to justice, repression of trade union activities, and denial of gig and informal workers of protection. Citing international standards, the article urges drastic reforms to revive legal credibility and ensure rights-based, inclusive labour governance.
USE OF LEGAL
The legal framework of labour rights in India is founded on the Constitution. Article 19(1) (c) promises the right to associations and trade unions, and Article 21 guarantees the right to life and dignity that courts have interpreted to embrace fair and safe working conditions. The Directive Principles, though non-justiciable, reinforce the state’s responsibility to secure just and humane conditions of work (Articles 38, 39, and 43). Despite these provisions, India’s refusal to ratify ILO Convention No. 87 reflects a gap between its constitutional promises and international commitments. Additionally, the recent labour codes—though aimed at simplification—have raised concerns about reduced protections and weakening collective bargaining power. The ongoing legal exclusion of gig workers and under-funded labour enforcement systems further breach both constitutional principles and India’s de facto international human rights law obligations.
THE PROOF
India is ranked in the “Rating 5” category by the 2025 Global Rights Index of the ITUC, indicating no assurance of rights because of systematic and habitual denial of labour freedoms. The document references monitoring of trade union leaders, quelling demonstrations, and denying platform workers as primary concerns. Constitutional articles like Articles 19(1)(c) and 21 on paper safeguard these rights, but their effective implementation is lacking. Additionally, even with the codification of legislation into the four Labour Codes, monitors like Human Rights Watch and the India Justice Report have reported that implementation is ineffective. Globally, India has not ratified ILO Convention No. 87, thereby undercutting its assertion of ensuring freedom of association. The continued marginalization of workers in the gig and informal sectors—coupled with delayed judicial remedies and under-resourced labour inspectorates—constitutes incontestable evidence of increasing disparity between India’s legal framework and its enforcement reality.
INTRODUCTION
In June 2025, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) published its Global Rights Index, which recorded a steep fall in the respect for workers’ rights across the world. India was given a rating of 5—the second worst category—meaning systematic abuse of workers’ rights, including bans on unionisation, restricted access to justice, and suppression of labour movements by the state. This rating indicates that India currently belongs to the category of nations where there is no “guarantee of rights” as the state has not maintained enforcement of labour protections in practice. The report further indicates that 72% of nations, including India, limit workers’ access to justice, with implications regarding the sufficiency of India’s legal and institutional systems for protecting labour.
CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR LABOUR RIGHTS IN INDIA
Indian labour rights are constitutionally justified by Article 19(1)(c), which protects the right to association or union, and Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and dignity. The Directive Principles of State Policy (specifically Articles 38, 39, and 43) also impel the State to implement policies of welfare and provide just working conditions. India is also a signatory to a number of ILO conventions, such as Convention No. 87 (Freedom of Association) and Convention No. 98 (Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining), although it has not ratified the former.
India has, in the last few years, consolidated 29 central labour laws into four Labour Codes: the Code on Wages (2019), Industrial Relations Code (2020), Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (2020), and the Social Security Code (2020). But even with the legislative reform, enforcement is weak, and worker rights are watered down in practice, particularly in the informal and gig economy.
SYSTEMIC VIOLATIONS HIGHLIGHTED BY THE ITUC
The ITUC report charges India with systematic repression of union activity, arbitrary detentions of labour leaders, and the deployment of state surveillance to discourage protests. Human rights groups’ reports also document the growing practice of contract labour and the denial of collective bargaining rights in both the public and private sectors. The repression of sanitation workers’, factory workers’, and gig workers’ protests is a classic example of this backsliding.
Incidents like arrests of trade union leaders in Haryana and state pressure on app-based delivery workers to prevent them from organizing collectives reveal a trend of corporate and state antagonism towards labour organizing. Ongoing failure of enforcement mechanisms within the labour inspectorate and acquiescent delay in labour court adjudications deplete trust further in the system.
ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR WORKERS: LEGAL GAPS AND BARRIERS
India’s law grants access to labour courts, tribunals, and conciliation officers, but effective access is limited. The reduction in the number of operational labour courts, underfunding of inspectorates, and the long-standing pendency of disputes before tribunals deter workers from approaching the legal system. Gig economy workers, especially those working for platforms like Zomato, Swiggy, and Uber, are frequently outside of formal labour protections, without the ability to seek remedy against unjust termination, wage theft, or overwork.
Although the Social Security Code has been enacted, coverage is low in reality because of implementation delays and administrative barriers. Women and marginalized communities still experience disproportionate difficulties in accessing legal remedies because of intersecting socio-economic disadvantages.
REFORM PATHWAYS: LEGAL AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
India needs to correct both legislative and administrative deficiencies to regain its reputation for protecting labour rights. First, ratification of ILO Convention No. 87 would be an important affirmation of commitment to the protection of freedom of association. Second, the four Labour Codes need to be revised to reinstate effective worker protections, especially for informal and gig workers.
Strengthening the infrastructure and capacity of the labour courts and inspectorates is vital in order to provide timely redressal of grievances. Further, digital platforms need to be brought within the purview of a rights-based legal framework that promises rights to minimum wage, working time, and collective bargaining. Greater trade union participation in policymaking as well as protection for whistle-blowers would create an enabling environment for labour justice.
CONCLUSION
India’s downgrade in the 2025 ITUC Global Rights Index reflects a widening gap between its constitutional promises and the lived realities of its workers. Despite having a legal framework that guarantees the right to form unions and ensures dignity at work, enforcement remains inconsistent and exclusionary—particularly for informal and gig economy workers. Without urgent legal reforms, better implementation, and alignment with international standards like ILO Convention No. 87, India risks further erosion of labour rights and international credibility. Protecting workers is not just a legal obligation—it is essential for inclusive and sustainable development.
FAQs
Q1. Why India was ranked 5 in the ITUC Global Rights Index 2025?
India was downgraded because of systemic breaches such as union suppression, absence of enforcement, and exclusion of informal workers from labour protections.
Q2. Are gig and platform workers covered by Indian labour laws?
Gig workers continue to be denied meaningful rights like minimum wage, collective bargaining, or job security even after the Social Security Code was passed.
Q3. What constitutional provisions underpin labour protection in India?
Articles 19(1)(c), 21, and Directive Principles such as Articles 38 and 43 underpin the rights of workers to form unions, live with dignity, and enjoy fair treatment.
Q4. What reforms does the article propose?
The article urges ratifying ILO Convention No. 87, reviewing labour codes to broaden protections, and improving the enforcement of labour rights via courts and inspectorates.
