Labour Law Update _ Code on Wages Bill, 2019

The Code on Wages Bill, 2019 Introduced in Lok Sabha

 The Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar introduced The Code on Wages Bill, 2019 in Lok Sabha today to amend and consolidate the laws relating to wages and bonus and matters connected therewith.

The Code on Wages Bill, 2019 subsumes relevant provisions of :

·         The Minimum Wages Act, 1948,

·         The Payment of Wages Act, 1936,

·         The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 and

·         The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.

After the enactment of the Code on Wages, all these four Acts will get repealed.

The salient features of the Code are as following:

1.  The Code on Wage universalizes the provisions of minimum wages and timely payment of wages to all employees irrespective of the sector and wage ceiling. At present, the provisions of both Minimum Wages Act and Payment of Wages Act apply on workers below a particular wage ceiling working in Scheduled Employments only.

2.      This would ensure:

·         "Right to Sustenance" for every worker and intends to increase the legislative protection of minimum wage from existing about 40% to 100% workforce.

·         Every worker gets minimum wage which will also be accompanied by increase in the purchasing power of the worker thereby giving fillip to growth in the economy. Introduction of statutory Floor Wage to be computed based on minimum living conditions, will extend qualitative living conditions across the country to about 50 crore workers.

·         It is envisaged that the states to notify payment of wages to the workers through digital mode.

Key Points:

                  I.            There are 12 definitions of wages in the different Labour Laws leading to litigation besides difficulty in its implementation.

               II.            At present, many of the states have multiple minimum wages.

             III.            Many changes have been introduced in the inspection regimes including web based randomized computerized inspection scheme, jurisdiction-free inspections, calling of information electronically for inspection, composition of fines etc.

             IV.            There were instances that due to smaller limitation period, the claims of the workers could not be raised.

It can be said that a historical step for ensuring statutory protection for minimum wage and timely payment of wage to 50 crore worker in the country has been taken through the Code on Wages besides promoting ease of living and ease of doing business.

Full details available (Source):

http://www.pib.nic.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1551802