Minimum Wages act, 1948

Explain in brief

1. Department of law, VNSGU. Subject – Labour law –II B.Com L.LB (Hons) Topic: - Minimum Wages act, 1948. Subject – Labour law –II B.Com L.LB (Hons) -By Harsha Bhatia(08) Sai Kadam (20) Nikhar Rander (45) Ronit Rathod (46)

2. INTRODUCTION:- The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 is an Act of Parliament concerning Indian Labour Law that sets the minimum wages that must be paid to skilled and unskilled labours. India introduced the Minimum Wages Act in 1948 giving both Central and state Government jurisdiction in fixing wages. The Act is legally non-binding but statutory. The payment of wages below the minimum wages amounts to forced labour. Wage boards are set up to review the industry’s capacity to pay and fix minimum wages such that they at least cover a family of four’s for basic requirements. In India, the Minimum wages Act was enacted to prevent exploitation of workers or labourers in certain industries.

3. OBJECTIVE: - The main object of the Minimum Wages Act is to fix the minimum rates of wages in the industries where the labourers are not organized. Following are the objectives of wage policy: - To provide maximum income security for all sections of the community. To eliminate exceptionally low wages. To establish Fair labour standards. To protect wage earners from the effect of rising prices. To provide incentive for workers to improve their productive performance.

4. Kinds of wages: - MINIMUM WAGE: - The minimum wage means a wage which is unquestionably to be paid by the employer to his employee under the provisions of minimum wages Act. The employer has to pay the minimum wage rate of wages to his employees, irrespective of his capacity to pay. FAIR WAGE: - Unlike minimum wage, there is no scientific definition for the term, “fair wage”. However, according to judicial interpretations, fair wage means, a wage which must be sufficient to provide a standard family with food, shelter, clothing, medical care and education of children, appropriate to the workmen. LIVING WAGE: - Living wage means, it is a wage, appropriate to meet normal needs of an average employee regarded as a human being living in a civilized society. According to this, living wage must provide not merely essentials such as food, shelter and clothing but for a condition of a comfort provision for evil days.

5. Fixation of minimum rate of wages [Section 3] :- The appropriate Government:- Shall fix minimum rates of wages for an employment specified in Part I or Part II of schedule and added by notification in official gazette. May fix rates for a part of the state or any specific class or classes instead of fixing minimum rate of wages for whole state. Shall review and revise at intervals not exceeding 5 years the minimum rates of wages. Minimum rates of wages may be fixed by any one or more of the following wage periods, namely:- By the hour. By the day. By the month. By such other larger wage period.

6. Procedure for fixing and revising minimum rates of wages [Section 5] :- Section 5 lays down that in fixing minimum wages in respect of any scheduled employment for first time under this Act or in revising minimum wages so fixed, the appropriate government shall either: - Appoint as many committees and sub-committees as it considers necessary to hold enquiries and advise it in respect of such fixation or revision, as the case may be; or By notification in the official gazette, publish its proposals for the information of persons likely to be affected thereby and specify a date not less than 2 months from the date of the notification on which the proposals will be taken into consideration. After considering the advise of the committees appointed, and all representations received by it before the date specified in the Gazette notification, the appropriate government may by notification in the official gazette, fix or revise the minimum rates of wages in respect of each scheduled employment, which shall come into force after the expiry of 3 months unless otherwise provided in the notification.

7. Authorities under this Act:- Section 7 Advisory Board: - The appropriate Government shall according to section 7 appoint an advisory board for the purpose : Co-ordinating the work of committees and sub-committees, appointed under S.5; and Advising the appropriate Government in the matter of fixing and revising minimum rates of wages. Besides the advisory board may advise the procedure to be adopted for discharging its functions under S.5 of this Act. Section 8 Central Advisory Board: - Section 8 makes it obligatory upon the Central Government to appoint a Central Advisory board for the following purposes: Advising the central and state governments in the matters of the fixation and revision of minimum rates of wages and other matters under the Act; and For Co-ordinating the work of the advisory boards. Section 8(2) provides that the Central Advisory Board shall consist of : Persons to be nominated by the central government representing employers and employees in the scheduled employment who shall be equal in number; and Independent persons not exceeding one third of its total number of members. The Chairman of the central board shall be one of the independent persons and shall be appointed by the central government.

8. SECTION 9 Composition of Committees etc :- Section 9 provides that such committees, sub committees and the advisory board shall consist of persons to be nominated by the appropriate government. Persons who can be appointed to these committees shall be representatives of the employers and employees in the scheduled employments and shall be equal in number of members in such bodies shall also be appointed.

9. Who can apply for claims under this Act? Any employee who feels aggrieved by the refusal of the employer to pay the minimum wages fixed under the Act has the right to make a complaint either by himself or through the prescribed agents to the authority mentioned in the Act. Penalties and Punishments for offence under this Act: - Section 22 covers the offences of employer like paying to his employees less than the minimum wages fixed to his class of work or fails to pays over time wages and for work done on the day of rest, etc. the punishment could be imprisonment upto 6 months or fine or with both.

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