After 7th Pay Commission, minimum wage revision to be made compulsory

Brining in the Minimum Wage Act would empower the Union Government to fix a national minimum wage.

Following the Cabinet approval of the 7th Pay Commission, the government is likely to take another important step. A new code that would make minimum wages compulsory is the next step that the Narendra Modi government would take for the central government employees.

The decision is being taken to ensure that the centre can fix a national minimum wage.

Before monsoon session

The new code would be placed before the monsoon session of parliament. Once it is approved in Parliament and both houses clear it, the same would come into force. All preparations are underway to table the code in the monsoon session of the House. However, it is not clear if the industrial relations code that seeks to ease the labour market will be tabled in the coming session, a Financial Express report stated. At present, minimum wages is applicable to 51 "scheduled employments".

What is the code?

The new code would be a combination of four extant Acts.

These Acts are-

Minimum Wages Act, 1948, The Payment of Wages Act, 1936, The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. The goal would be to reduce the big difference among minimum wages across different states.

Revision every two years

Brining in the Minimum Wage Act would empower the Union Government to fix a national minimum wage, below which no state can fix their wage. The amount would be revised every two years. However in a case where the DA is a part of the minimum wage, then the amount would subject to revision every five years.

No more pay commissions

The 7th Pay Commission is expected to be the last of the commissions. The government is putting in place a mechanism where the wage and allowance revisions for central government employees would be carried out periodically. As of now the indication is that the wage revision would take place once in two years.

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