Abstract

This paper highlights structural change from permanent to contractual employment after economic liberalization by closely analyzing expansion of contract labor in India’s organized sector between 1995 and 2022. Research examines developments in employment, pay inequality, and social security coverage using time-series analysis and secondary data from the Annual Survey of Industries, NSSO, and ILO. Percentage of contract labor rose from 14.5% to 38.4%, according to the findings, which reflects employers’ increasing need for cost effectiveness and labor flexibility. However, this shift has reduced contract workers’ access to social protection, increased pay disparity, and diminished job stability. Though laws like Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code of 2020 and Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act of 1970 aim to safeguard workers, insufficient enforcement is still a big problem. To promote fair employment and India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 goal, report suggests more robust labor regulations and inclusive policies.

Keywords: Contract Labour, Organized Sector, Contract Labour Act, Working Conditions Code, Employment