Greater Noida, September 28: Uttar Pradesh Labour and Employment Minister Anil Rajbhar said the four labour codes being implemented by the Centre would play an important role in promoting the ease of doing business in the country and the state. He said the government’s priority was to protect the interests of workers while creating a favourable environment for industry.
“Workers and industry are complementary to each other. Therefore, policies and decisions are being taken keeping in mind the interests and future of both,” Rajbhar said while addressing a session on ‘Special Labour Codes’ on the fourth day of the Uttar Pradesh International Trade Show-2026 on Monday.
The Labour Minister said Uttar Pradesh had ranked first in the country for two consecutive years in the registration of new factories. A large number of new factories have been registered in the state since 2017, he said, adding that this demonstrated the state government’s sustained efforts to create a better business environment for industries.
He said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state had strengthened law and order, significantly improved connectivity, ensured adequate power availability and created a positive environment for industries. These efforts were reflected in increasing investment and employment opportunities in the state, he said.
Rajbhar said the government had always faced the challenge of maintaining the confidence of the industrial sector without compromising workers’ interests. With this objective, the government was placing special emphasis on better coordination between workers and entrepreneurs.
“Industry cannot be imagined without workers, and workers cannot be imagined without industry,” he said, stressing the need to take decisions after understanding the interests, concerns and future of both sides.
The minister said the implementation of the four labour codes marked an important step towards reforming and simplifying labour laws. The Central Government had held consultations with various stakeholders on the codes and discussions had also been held with representatives of the industrial sector. The Uttar Pradesh government was moving forward in the same spirit, he said.
Rajbhar said the government had always kept its doors open to the industrial sector. If any industry faced a problem or required government support, departmental officials and the government were available to help resolve the issue.
He said the government was committed to working alongside industry, understanding its problems and finding solutions. The minister also said Uttar Pradesh had undergone a major transformation across various development sectors compared with the situation before 2017.
He credited the industrial sector with playing an important role in this transformation and thanked investors and entrepreneurs for their cooperation. He said the state’s development goals could not be achieved without the participation and support of industry.
Rajbhar said global competition and challenges would increase in the coming years. Continuous dialogue, cooperation and coordination between the government and industry would therefore be essential to take Uttar Pradesh towards new development opportunities.
Additional Chief Secretary, Labour and Employment, Ashish Kumar Goyal; Labour Commissioner Saumya Agrawal; Junaid, Basant Gangwar, Rakesh Dwivedi and Brijesh, along with labour department officials from Ghaziabad, Meerut, Noida and the NCR region, representatives of industry and social workers attended the programme.
Labour Codes to Simplify Compliance for Industries, Expand Single-Window System: Goyal
Additional Chief Secretary, Labour and Employment, Ashish Kumar Goyal, said the four labour codes had simplified the system by consolidating several existing labour laws in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Ease of Doing Business’, ‘Ease of Living’ and ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’.
He said industry had long demanded that difficulties in compliance arising from the complexity and large number of labour laws be addressed. The four codes had streamlined the labour law framework, he said.
Goyal said most of the rules related to the codes had already been issued in Uttar Pradesh. Steps were also being taken to further strengthen the single-window system for industries, under which applications for various departments and local bodies would be facilitated through a single portal.
This would save industries time, simplify compliance and further strengthen the investment environment in the state, he said.
Goyal said workers and industry were complementary to each other and the government’s priority was to strike a balance between their interests while ensuring worker safety and a business-friendly system.
He said awareness workshops on the labour codes would be organised across the state, particularly in industrial areas, to ensure wider dissemination of their provisions.
Effective Implementation of Labour Codes in Interest of Industry and Workers: Saumya Agrawal
Labour Commissioner Saumya Agrawal said the primary objective of the session was to establish better coordination between industry and workers while ensuring workers’ dignity, safety and welfare.
She said four labour codes had been introduced by consolidating existing labour laws: the Code on Wages, the Industrial Relations Code, the Code on Social Security, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code. The department was fully committed to their effective implementation, she said.
The codes were aimed at reducing multiple registrations and promoting a single-window system, Agrawal said. She added that bringing platform workers within the ambit of social security, creating a digital database of workers and ensuring effective access to various welfare schemes were important components of the new framework.
She said emphasis was also being placed on ensuring safe workplaces in accordance with international standards in the areas of occupational safety and health, as well as providing women with a safe working environment and equal opportunities.
Agrawal said creating labour codes alone was not sufficient and that ensuring their effective implementation was equally important. The department’s objective was to develop a system that facilitates industrial growth while fully protecting workers’ rights and welfare.
