Karnataka’s Congress government is set to hold a meeting of Labour Ministers from Southern States in January. The goal is to discuss the four new Labour Codes introduced by the Centre in November 2025. These codes replace 29 earlier labour laws and have stirred controversy. The four are the Code on Wages, Industrial Relations Code, Code on Social Security, and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code. A key issue is Karnataka’s delayed revision of minimum wages for 2022-23, which now remains uncertain. The State plans to write to the Centre pointing out weak spots in the new Codes. Labour Ministers from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana are expected to join the talks. Kerala’s Labour Minister has already written to Karnataka on this matter. Karnataka Labour Minister Santhosh Lad said the Codes are "a bunch of contradiction besides being anti -labour" and warned they could discourage permanent jobs in industry. Karnataka’s draft minimum wages were proposed between ₹19,000 and ₹31,000 based on Supreme Court guidelines but face employer opposition. The government has received over 40,000 objections on these wages. Sources questioned, "How can the Centre outline uniform wages or decide minimum wages in States? Labour is a concurrent subject." A meeting with the Chief Minister to discuss wages had to be postponed due to leadership issues. The Labour Department hopes for a positive decision soon.