LS okays Wages Bill to replace four laws
As many as 17 present labour laws are more than 50-years-old and some of them even belong to the pre-independence era.
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed The Code on Wages Bill, 2019, which according to Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Santosh Kumar Gangwar, aims to transform the old and obsolete labour laws into more accountable and transparent ones. Terming it a “historic” Bill, Mr Gangwar said it is “need of the hour”.
As many as 17 present labour laws are more than 50-years-old and some of them even belong to the pre-independence era.
Among the four Acts being subsumed in The Code on Wages Bill, The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 belongs to the pre-independence era and The Minimum Wages Act 1948 is 71-year-old. The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 and The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 are also being subsumed in the new Code.
He added that the legislation ensures minimum wages along with timely payment of wages to all the employees and workers.
“Many unorganized sector workers like agricultural workers, painters, persons working in restaurants and dhaabas, chowkidars etc. who were out of the ambit of minimum wages will get legislative protection of minimum wages after the bill becomes an Act,” he said.
It has been ensured in the Bill that employees getting monthly salary shall get the salary by 7th of next month, those working on weekly basis shall get the salary on last day of the week and daily wagers should get it on the same day, he added.