Reportedly in the face of increasing criticism and negative public perception over the plight of migrant laborers, the Centre is now pushing for a more wholesome assessment of minimum wage for workers. The government of india has issued a gazette notification for draft rules for the 'Code of Wages' law which is expected to benefit 50 crore workers across the country. After presenting the rules in the form of a gazette notification on tuesday, the Centre has invited suggestions that will be considered before a final draft is accepted.
These rules come a year after parliament had passed the Code on Wages Bill, allowing the Centre to set a minimum statutory wage. Minimum wage rules do not just incorporate livelihood but also wellbeing, said the government. It had added that the power to fix minimum wages will stay with the Central and state governments. First in a series of four labor codes proposed as part of the Centre's labor reform initiative, the minimum wage law asserted that the government would fix a minimum wage on the basis of geography and skills.
Moreover a total of 123 occupations have been included in the Centre's latest notification under the unskilled category/ these include loader/unloader, woodcutter, office boy, cleaner, gateman, sweeper, attendants, beldar etc. The semi-skilled category has 127 occupations, including butler/cook, khalasi, masalchi, washer man, and sweeper. Meanwhile, the skilled category comprises 320 types of occupations, including munshi, typist, bookkeeper, librarian, hindi translator, and data entry operator among others. This would add to transparency and reduce harassment of workers.
