Government has notified the labour code on wages paving way for 50 crore workers to become eligible for mandatory minimum wages. The bill got the assent of the President on August 8, 2019 following which ministry of law and justice has published it in the gazette.
This is the first in a series of four labour codes proposed in the government’s labour reform initiative. The minimum wage fixed by the Centre will no longer be based on employment but on geography and skills.
As many as 17 labour laws are more than 50 years old and some even belong to the pre-Independence era. Labour ministry will soon notify the minimum wages in the country.
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The code ensures minimum wages along with timely payment of wages to all employees and workers. Many unorganised sector workers like agricultural workers, painters, persons working in restaurants and dhabas and chowkidars, who were outside the ambit of minimum wages, will get legislative protection of minimum wages after the bill becomes an act.
Besides, the bill will ensure that employees getting a monthly salary are paid by the 7th of the following month. Those working on a weekly basis will be paid on the last day of the week and daily wagers should get them on the same day.
Source: Economic Times
