5 things to know about Code on Wages that ensures minimum pay

Mumbai: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday is likely to give approval to the Code on Wages Bill that seeks to mandate minimum wages as a right for all employees.

According to a report in Financial Express, the code will then be open for discussions in the Monsoon Session of the Parliament.

This move is being viewed as one of the first steps taken by the Labour Ministry to embark on a series of labour reforms. The bill which seeks to create transparency in the labour sector has been approved by an inter-ministerial panel on labour, headed by  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.  

Here are five things the Code on Wages seeks to change:

1. It aims at reducing disparity in minimum wages across states.

2. The Centre will set a minimum wage across sectors and states would have to comply with that. However, states can provide for higher minimum wage in their jurisdiction, over and above the wage fixed by the Centre.

3. Currently the minimum wages provision is only applicable to scheduled industries or establishments. The Code on Wages seeks to ensure universal minimum wage for all industries and workers.

4. It will also cover those workers who are getting monthly pay of higher than Rs 18,000. The Centre will also revise the minimum wages from time to time to ensure they are relevant to the times.

5. The Code on Wages will subsume the Minimum Wages Act of 1948, the Payment of Wages Act of 1936, the Payment of Bonus Act of 1965 and the Equal Remuneration Act of 1976.
   In fact, 44 labour laws will condensed into four codes-- wages, industrial relations, social security and safety, health and working conditions by the Labour Ministry.