Page 285 - DMGT516_LABOUR_LEGISLATIONS

Labour Legislations

Notes b) observe all directions which may be issued under the Act in regard to normal working
hours, weekly day of rest with wages and overtime rates;
c) maintain registers and records as required by the Government showing particulars of
employees’ work performed by them, wages paid to them and receipts given by them;
d) issue wage books or slips to employees in respect of minimum rates of wages if required
by the Government, and make authenticated entries in such wage books or wages slips.
Right of Workers: Every worker has a right to:
i) receive minimum wages, including overtime wages, as fixed and notified by the
Government, and
ii) file claims for short payments within six months from the date the minimum wages
become payable. Delay in filing the claim may be condoned, if there is sufficient cause.

11.8 General Remarks

As observed by the National Commission of Labour, Minimum Wages Act is an important
landmark in the history of labour legislation in India. This Act recognises that in a country like
India where there is so much surplus labour, both educated and uneducated, wages cannot be
allowed to be determined by the forces of demand and supply alone, as this would make it
difficult to prevent sweating of labour. Its main objective of preventing exploitation of labour
through payment of low or sweated wages seems to have been achieved as nearly 90% of
industrial and commercial workers are reported to have been ensured minimum subsistence
wage by the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of this Act.
During the last fifty years of its operation, the Act has been amended several times for widening
its coverage by adding more employments to the schedule and improvements in the method
and procedure of fixing and revising minimum wages. The implementation of the Act has also
improved the level of wages, both in the organised and unorganised sectors of industries, and
has thus reduced the number of disputes on account of wages. In spite of amendments made in
the Act, it still suffers from the following limitations:
i) The Act is applicable only to employments mentioned in the schedule to the Act. This
limitation is minimised to some extent by the provisions made in the Act empowering the
appropriate government to apply it to any other employment by including it in the
schedule. This power has been used extensively by the government concerned with the
result that now more than 300 employments are covered by the Act against twelve beside
agricultural to start with. This limitation may also be justified on administrative grounds,
since the Act is applicable to very small employments, the large number of which makes
the enforcement of the act difficult and expensive as this may require appointment of
more Inspectors.
ii) The act does not lay down principles and criteria for determining minimum wages. This
omission may be due to the thinking on the part of the framers of this legislation to allow
the appropriate government to adopt criteria and principles suiting its social and economic
conditions.

iii) The Act does not define the term “Minimum Wages” in its contents. It is, however, defined
in the judgements of the Supreme Court and some High Courts mentioning its content.
According to most of the definitions, minimum wage should include what is required by
the worker for the subsistence of himself and his family and the preservation of his
efficiency as a workman. In calculating it, beside food, clothing and rent expenses, medical
and education expenses should also be considered. It is also a common view that the
minimum wage has no reference either to the value of work done by the worker or to the

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