Lawyers Strike Across Gujarat Labour Courts Over New Labour Code Provisions

Lawyers practicing at industrial and labour courts across Gujarat, including the prominent Labour Court at Apna Bazar in Ahmedabad, abstained from court work and staged demonstrations protesting against the new Labour Code.

The strike, called following a resolution passed during a general body meeting of the Labour and Industrial Court Advocates' Association, saw court operations come to a halt in Ahmedabad. Union representatives claimed that legal practitioners across all labour courts in Gujarat joined the boycott, launching an indefinite strike until their demands regarding the provisions of the new legal framework are addressed.

Loss of Judicial Power Threatens Workers' Rights

Advocates opposing the overhaul voiced concern over the shift in jurisdiction from specialized judicial forums to administrative authorities under the updated Labour Code.

Lawyers argued that stripping judicial powers from established labour and industrial tribunals to vest them in administrative officers directly harms the interests of working-class litigants. Because administrative officials lack deep judicial training and legal knowledge, attorneys insisted that judicial authority over labour disputes must remain strictly with the court system.

Indefinite Boycott to Continue Until Demands Met

The striking lawyers urged presiding judges not to issue any ex-parte orders or adverse rulings during the strike period to protect the legal interests of workers whose cases remain pending.

With legal practitioners standing firm on their demand for policy revisions and the restoration of judicial authority over labour matters, the indefinite work boycott threatens to create significant backlogs across tribunals in the state.