Code on Wages 2019:

After years of trying, the central government has made a fresh bid to
universalise provision of minimum wages to all workers, both in
organised and unorganised sector, through the Code of Wages, 2019.
The last attempt was made in 2017 when a bill for the purpose was
introduced in the Lok Sabha and referred to a Parliamentary Standing
Committee but could not be passed.

What the Bill says

The Bill amalgamates four labour laws relating to wages and bonus
and related matters –
the Payment of Wages Act of 1936,
Minimum Wages Act of 1948,
Payment of Bonus Act of 1965
Equal Remuneration Act of 1976 - into a single code and provides for
a national minimum wages for all workers.

It provides for all essential elements related to wages, equal

remuneration, its timely payment and bonus. The minimum wage
would include basic rate of wage, cost of living allowance and the cash
value of concessions etc. and take into account skills, arduousness of
work, geographical locations and other aspects to fix it. Both the
central and state governments will fix minimum wages in their
respective sphere.

The provision relating to timely payment and authorized deductions

(applicable until now for employees drawing Rs 24,000 per month)
will be applicable to "all employees irrespective of wage ceiling",
including those in the government establishments.

To remove arbitrariness and malpractices, there would be Inspectors-

cum-Facilitators in place of Inspectors. The Parliamentary panel had
objected to replacing Inspector with Facilitator on the ground that the
latter seemed to suggest dilution of the implementation mechanism
and hence the hyphenated arrangement.
The bill also provides for the appointment of one or more authorities,
instead of multiple ones at present, to decide claims and an appellate
authority for speedy, cheaper and efficient redressal of grievances.
In case of claims relating to non-payment or less payment of wages or
bonus or unauthorised deductions, the burden of proof would be on
the employer. The period of limitation for filing claims has been
extended to three years (from six months to two years).

The Bill also provides for revising minimum wages every five years
and emphasises on the use of technology for enforcement, along with
payment of wages by cheque or through digital modes.

Why the change

The statement of object and reasons of the bill says that the purpose is
to widen the scope to ensure equity and ease of compliance of labour
laws. This would lead to setting up more industries and create more
jobs. It further says the endeavour is to remove multiplicity of
definitions and authorities without compromising on the basic
concepts of welfare and benefits to workers and to bring transparency
and accountability into the system.
The amalgamation is in line with the recommendation of the second
National Commission on Labour of 2002 and tripartite consultations
(among government, industry and employee representatives) held
earlier.

The Economic Survey of 2018-19 had highlighted the complexity in

the minimum wage system in India by pointing out that there were
nearly 429 scheduled employments and 1,915 scheduled job categories
for unskilled workers across India covered by the Minimum Wages Act
of 1948. The bill removes the concept of 'scheduled employments' -
declared as such by the central and state governments.