One Workforce, One Vision: A Strategic HRM Blueprint for CPSEs in the Era of Labour Code Transformation

Abstract Book of the 8th International Conference on Research in Human Resource Management

Year: 2026

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One Workforce, One Vision: A Strategic HRM Blueprint for CPSEs in the Era of Labour Code Transformation

Biswajit Gogoi, Dr. Ankur Baruah

ABSTRACT:

This paper examines the entrenched segmentation between executives and workpersons in India’s Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and explores how the implementation of the four new labour codes—the Code on Wages, the Industrial Relations Code, the Code on Social Security, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code—affects this divide. Drawing on labour market segmentation theory and the Ability–Motivation–Opportunity (AMO) framework, the study analyzes how legal, structural, and cultural factors have historically reinforced dual HRM systems within CPSEs. While the new labour codes preserve the legal distinction between “workers” and “managers,” they also introduce harmonized wage definitions, expanded social security coverage, and formalized voice mechanisms that create opportunities for more inclusive human resource management. The paper proposes a strategic HRM framework that leverages these reforms to foster high-involvement work systems, enhance employee engagement, and improve organizational outcomes. Key interventions include leadership development, participatory work design, upskilling pathways for workpersons, aligned incentives, and harmonized HR policies. The study concludes that CPSEs can use the labour codes as a catalyst to transition from segmented to synergistic workforce models, thereby enhancing productivity, innovation, and industrial harmony. The paper contributes to HRM theory by highlighting the role of institutional reforms in reshaping internal HRM differentiation and offers practical guidance for public-sector organizations navigating regulatory and cultural change.

Keywords: Employee Engagement; High-Involvement Work Systems; Labour Law Reform; Public Sector HRM; Workforce Segmentation