Panel suggests consultation with states for fixing minimum wages

Maximum penalty of Rs 10 lakh instead of Rs 50,000 for employers who pay less than the amount due to employees and consultation with states before fixation of National Minimum Wage by the central government are among some of the key recommendations proposed by the Standing Committee on Labour for ‘The Code on Wages, Bill, 2017’.

The Bill, tabled in Lok Sabha in August 2017 and subsequently referred to the Standing Committee, will provide for minimum wage applicable to all employments covering organised as well as unorganised sectors.

Following these recommendations by the Standing Committee, the Ministry of Labour and Employment is now expected to incorporate the changes and send it to the Union Cabinet for its approval, following which the Bill will be considered for passage by the Parliament. The first among the four labour codes proposed by the government, the Code on Wages will amalgamate the the four central labour laws relating to wages: The Payment of Wages Act, 1936, The Minimum Wages Act, 1948, The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 and The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.