Krishna Parikh(6)

Devanshu Sarawgi(16)

Yash Shah(25)

Ankit Baradia(37)

Sanket Vyas(38)

Nitin Sachdeva(47)

Ronak Mehta(58)

MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948

CONTENTS• Introduction

• History of the act

• Enforcement of act

• Related terms

• Schedule employment

• Fixation of minimum rate of wages

• Procedure of minimum rate of wages

• Advisory board & central advisory board

• Safeguard in payment of wages

• Case study, newspaper articles & field visit

INTRODUCTION

• Wages [Sec. 2(h)]. ‘Wages’ means all the remuneration, capable of being expressed in terms of money, which would, if the terms of the contract of employment, express or implied, were fulfilled, be payable to a person employed in respect of his employment or work done in such employment. Hence,

• Minimum wages are the lowest wage permitted by law or by a special agreement.

HISTORY/OBJECT OF THE ACT

• The object of the Act is to secure the welfare of the workers in a competitive market by fixing the minimum rates of wages in certain employments.

• The initiative started with the resolution placed by one Shri K.G.R.Choudhary in 1920 of minimum wages in each industry

…• In a country like ours where the number of unemployed

people is very large, the legislators realized that if the rule of market is allowed to prevail, it could be difficult to prevent sweating or exploitation of labour through payment of unduly low wage. It was to prevent this position that the Act was enacted and specific provisions were made for determining minimum wages in respect of the scheduled employments.

RELATED TERMS1. Adult: 18 above

2. Adolescent: 14th year of age but not 18th year

3. Child: Under 14th year of age

4. Appropriate Government:

5. Competent authority

6. Cost of living index number

7. Employer

8. Employee

9. Scheduled employment

10.Wage

MINIMUM RATE OF WAGES

• The National Floor Level of Minimum Wage has been increased to Rs 100 per day from Rs 80 per day (which was in effect since 2007). Recently with effect from April 1, 2011 the National Floor Level of Minimum Wage has been raised to Rs 115 per day.

• In order to reduce disparities between wages in neighboring states and bring comparability the Central government has set up 5 regional committees for harmonization of minimum wages.

…

• Disclaimer : Minimum Wages have been provided by the Labour Departments of respective states. All efforts have been made to update the minimum wage data on a regular basis. However, there might be unforeseen errors.

REGION STATES COVERED

EASTERN REGION West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh & Andaman and Nicobar islands.

NORTH EASTERN REGION Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura & Sikkim

SOUTHERN REGION Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry & Lakshadweep

NOTHERN REGION Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana Uttar Khand, Delhi & Chandigarh

WESTERN REGION Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu

FIXATION OF MINIMUM WAGESThe minimum rate of wage is fixed on the following basis as given by 15th Indian Labour Conference:-

• 3 consumption units for one earner.

• Minimum food requirements of 2700 calories per average indian adult

• Clothing requirements of 72 yards per annum per family.

• Rent corresponding to the minimum area provided for under Government's Industrial Housing Scheme.

PROCEDURE IN FIXING OF WAGES

• In Section 5 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, two methods have been provided for fixation/revision of minimum wages. They are :-

• Committee method

• Notification method.

ADVISORY BOARD AND CENTRAL ADVISORY BOARD

• Advisory board:- For the purpose of co-ordinating the work of the committees and sub-committees advising the appropriate government on the matters of fixing and revising the minimum rates of wages, the appropriate government shall appoint an advisory board.

• Central advisory board:- The central government shall appoint the central advisory board for co-ordinating the advisory board and advising central and state government on the matters of fixing and revising the minimum rates of wages and other matters under the act.

• Main decision is made by the Appropriate Government (i.e.The State or the Central Government)

SAFEGUARDS IN PAYMENT OF MINIMUM WAGES

• Wages in kind

• Payment of minimum rate of wages

• Fixing hours for normal working day

• Rates of overtime

• Wages for worker who work less than normal time

• Wages for two or more classes of work

• Minimum time rate wages for piece work

• Maintenance of registers and records

ENFORCEMENT (INSPECTORS AND CLAIMS)

Inspectors :- The appropriate government by the notification of the official gazette may appoint the inspectors for the purpose of act and define the local limits within which they shall exercise their functions.

Powers of inspectors:-

• Examine registers anytime,

• Examine any person,

• Seize or take copies of registers,

• Demand for any document from any person.

…

Claims :- The appropriate government by the notification of the official gazette may appoint an authority to hear and decide for any specified area claims –

• (a)arising out of payment of less than minimum rate of wages,

• (b)in respect of payment of remuneration on the days of rest

• (c)in respect of wages at overtime rate.

The authority to hear the claim and make decision, may be given to any officer of central or state government or with the experience as a judge or any commissioner for workmen compensation

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND WEBLIOGRAPHY

• Industrial law by nd kapoor

• Lawnotes.in

• Frontlineonnet.com

• Indiankanoon

• Times of India

• Google.com