National minimum wage will vary, not fixed at Rs. 18,000/month: Centre

The Centre on Tuesday cleared the air regarding the fixation of minimum wage as Rs. 18000 per month and clarified that government has not fixed or mentioned any amount as "national minimum wage" in the Code on Wages Bill 2017.

The statement issued by the Labour Ministry further read that the apprehension that minimum wage of Rs. 18000 per month has been fixed for all employees is 'incorrect, false and baseless'.

"The minimum wages will vary from place to place depending upon skill required, arduousness of the work assigned and geographical location," the Labour Ministry said in a release.

The statement however, clarified that the Code on Wages Bill 2017, in the clause 9 (3), clearly states that the Centre, before fixing the national minimum wage, may obtain the advice of the Central Advisory Board, having representatives from employers and employees.

"Therefore the Code provide for a consultative mechanism before determining the national minimum wage,' it said.

The Labour Ministry statement further claimed that reports of revised methodology for calculation of minimum wages by enhancing the units from three to six.

"It was purely a demand raised by trade unions in the recent meeting of the Central Advisory Board on Minimum Wages. However, it is clarified that such proposal is not part of the Code on Wages Bill," it said.

The Code on Wages Bill 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha on August 8, 2017and it subsume four existing Laws - 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 After the enactment of the Code on Wages, all these four Acts will get repealed.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 Codification of the Labour Laws will remove the multiplicity of definitions and authorities leading to ease of compliance without compromising wage security and social security to the workers.

The new Code on Wages will ensure minimum wages to one and all and timely payment of wages to all employees irrespective of the sector of employment without any wage ceiling.

A concept of statutory National Minimum Wage for different geographical areas has been introduced. It will ensure that no State Government fixes the minimum wage below the National Minimum Wages for that particular area as notified by the Central Government.

The government has also imposed penalties for different types of violations under this Code, with the amount of fines varying as per the gravity of violations and repeat of the offences. Provision of compounding of offences has been made for those which are not punishable by a penalty of imprisonment.