Parliament approves wage code bill

Parliament on Friday approved a bill to enable the introduction of the minimum wage for every worker.

The Code on Wages Bill, 2019, which was passed in Lok Sabha earlier, was passed in Rajya Sabha.

The Bill - which seeks to amend and consolidate the laws relating to wages, bonus and matters connected therewith – will benefit 50 crore workers, Union Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said.

The Bill will subsume four labour laws - Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Wages Act, Payment of Bonus Act and Equal Remuneration Act. After its enactment, all these four Acts would be repealed.

Replying to the discussion on the bill, he said all such workers in the country will come under the ambit of minimum wages. He assured the House that the central government would not fix the minimum wages.

As per the legislation, the tripartite committee comprising representatives of trade unions, employers and state government would fix a floor wage for workers throughout the country, Gangwar said.

The proposed law will effectively address the problems relating to delay in payment of wages whether on monthly, weekly or daily basis. The minister said the bill will ensure that there are no discriminations between male and female as well as transgenders in getting wages, the Minister said.