Labour Ministry seeks Cabinet nod for Wage Code Bill

The Labour Ministry has sought Cabinet nod for the Wage Code Bill that seeks to empower the Centre to fix a minimum wage applicable across all sectors in the entire country. “We have already sent the Wage Code Bill for Cabinet approval. We will also send the Labour Code on Industrial Relations Bill for Cabinet approval in a week,” Labour Secretary Shankar Aggarwal said after a seminar on Labour Reforms.

“We are trying to create a mechanism for minimum wage for all sectors in the country.”  At present, the Centre and states fix minimum wages for different categories of workers in various sectors under their respective jurisdictions.

Once it sees the light of day, the Wage Code will allow fixing a benchmark wage for workers which will have to be adhered to by the states as well. This provision will ensure a minimum wage to workers across the country. However, the states will be free to prescribe higher wages.

The Labour Ministry is likely to push the Wages and Industrial Relations codes in the Budget session of Parliament. The ministry will finalise the Labour Code on Social Security and Welfare and the Labour Code on Safety and Working Conditions in a month.

Through labour reforms, the Centre intends to convert 44 labour laws into four codes — wages, industrial relations, social security and safety. It is pursuing labour reforms with a focus on increasing ease of doing business by providing flexibility to hire workers.