This paper disinters the report of the National Commission on Labour to reveal the ideological basis of the changes sought in the labour laws. Changes suggested in the labour laws flow from an understanding of labour that is derived from the perspective of capital. The policy goal of the NCL recommendations is to position labour in a manner that will ensure the expansion of competitive capitalism in India. The article deploys the class-focused Marxist approach to reveal how the NCL attempted to change the meanings of labour, the working day, work culture and indeed that of the labour rights as a whole.