Inequality in Minimum Wage – Recommendation of the National Commission on Rural Labour (NCRL): Rajya Sabha QA
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 260
TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.12.2022
INEQUALITY IN MINIMUM WAGE
260. SHRI MOHAMMED NADIMUL HAQUE:
Will the Minister of Labour and Employment be pleased to state:
(a) whether it is a fact that the national minimum wage is still Rs. 176;
(b) if so, the reasons therefor;
(c) whether Government plans to implement the recommendations of the Expert Committee on National Minimum Wage and raise it to Rs. 375 and if so, the details thereof, if not, the reasons therefor;
(d) whether the Code on Wages, 2019 guarantees minimum wage for all and if not, the reasons therefor; and
(e) the steps taken by Government to prohibit discrimination against ethnic minorities and lower castes, which is a big source of inequality?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
(SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)
(a) to (d): The Central Government, based on the recommendation of the National Commission on Rural Labour (NCRL) in 1991, introduced the concept of National Floor Level Minimum Wage (NFLMW) as a non-statutory measure so as to have a uniform wage structure and to reduce the disparity in minimum wages across the country.
The National Floor Level Minimum Wage was last revised from Rs.160/- to Rs.176/- per day w.e.f. 01.06.2017. The Code on Wages, 2019, has been passed by the Parliament and notified on 08.08.2019. The Code subsumes the concept of National Floor Level Minimum Wages (NFLMW) and makes it a statutory provision.
Section 9 of the Code on Wages, 2019 provides for fixing of floor wage by the Central Government. The floor wage so fixed is applicable across the Central and the State spheres. The Code stipulates that the minimum rates of wages fixed by the appropriate Governments shall not be less than the floor wage. The relevant provisions of the Code on Wages, 2019, have not come into force.
(e): The provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, do not discriminate on the basis of caste, creed and religion.
Source: Rajya Sabha