Wages Code Bill will uphold workers' rights, ensure timely payments: Govt

Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Tuesday said in Lok Sabha that the Wages Code Bill will enable introduction of minimum wage for every worker besides addressing issues concerning delay in payment to employees.

The Code on Wages Bill, 2019, which seeks to amend and consolidate the laws relating to wages and bonus and matters connected therewith, will benefit 50 crore workers, the Minister said while moving the Bill for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha.

The Bill subsumes four labour laws -- Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Wages Act, Payment of Bonus Act and Equal Remuneration Act. After enactment of the Code, all these four Acts would be repealed.

He said that while drafting the bill, the government has accepted 17 out of the 24 recommendations made by the Standing Committee which had scrutinised a similar bill introduced in the previous Lok Sabha.

As per the bill, the tripartite committee comprising representatives of trade unions, employers and state governments would fix a floor wage for workers throughout the country, Gangwar said, adding "minimum wage will become right of every worker."

In addition to other things, the Bill will effectively address the problems relating to delay in payments of wages whether on monthly, weekly or daily basis, the Minister said.

The Code universalises the provisions of minimum wages and timely payment of wages to all employees irrespective of the sector and wage ceiling.

At present, the provisions of both Minimum Wages Act and Payment of Wages Act apply on workers below a particular wage ceiling working in Scheduled Employments only.

The floor wage will be computed based on minimum living conditions, benefiting about 50 crore workers across the country.

At present there are 12 definitions of wages in the different Labour Laws leading to litigation besides difficulty in its implementation.

The definition has been simplified in the Bill and is expected to reduce litigation and also reduce compliance cost for employers.

The Code on Wages Bill was earlier introduced in Lok Sabha on August 10, 2017 and was referred to Parliamentary Standing Committee which submitted its Report on December 81, 2018.

However, owing to dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha, the Bill had lapsed. Therefore, a fresh Bill was drafted after considering the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee and other suggestions of the stakeholders.

Initiating the debate on the Bill, Congress member K Suresh alleged that the bill was aimed at benefiting the corporate and not workers, and was a reflection of the "indifferent attitude of the government".

Even RSS-affiliated trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) had opposed the Wages Code, he said, adding the enactment of the bill will result in labour unrest and disturb industrial peace.

Saugata Roy (TMC) said that workers were struggling to save the existing benefits from employers which themselves are feeling stressed on account of policies of the government.

Others who spoke in the discussion include Virendra Kumar (BJP) and D Ravikumar (DMK).