Lok Sabha passes Wage Code Bill to ensure minimum wage for workers

  1. Lok Sabha has passed the Code on Wages Bill, 2019.The Bill seeks to subsume existing laws related to workers’ remuneration.
  2. The bill will replace the (a)Payment of Wages Act,1936, (b)Minimum Wages Act,1948 (c)Payment of Bonus Act,1965 and the (d)Equal Remuneration Act,1976.
  3. The bill provides that the Central Government will fix minimum wages for certain sectors including railways and mines while the states would be free to set minimum wages for other category of employment.
  4. The code also provides for setting up of a national minimum wage.The Central Government can set a separate minimum wage for different regions or states.The Bill also says that the minimum wage would be revised every five years.
  5. The bill has introduced many changes in the inspection regimes including web based randomised computerised inspection scheme, jurisdiction-free inspections,composition of fines among others.All these changes will be conducive for enforcement of labour laws with transparency and accountability.
  6. Further,the Code on Wages bill is one of the four codes that would subsume 44 labour laws.The four codes will deal with (a)wages (b)social security, (c)industrial safety and welfare and (d)industrial relations.
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