Published Paper Details:

The Second National Commission of Labor which submitted its report in June 2002, had recommended that existing set of labour laws should be broadly amalgamated the following groups, namely:- (a) Industrial Relations; (b) Wages; (c) Social Security; (d) Safety ; and (e) Welfare and working conditions. In pursuance if the recommendations of the said Commission and the deliberations made in the tripartite meeting comprising of the Government, employers and industry representatives , it has been decided to bring the proposed legislation. The proposed legislation intends to amalgamate, simplify and rationalize the relevant provisions of the following four central labour enactments relating to wages namely:- (a) The Payment of Wages Act, 1936; (b) The Minimum Wages Act.1948 (c) The Payment of Wages Act, 1965;and (d) The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 The amalgamation of the said laws will facilitate the implementation and also remove multiplicity of definitions and authorities without compromising on the basic concepts of welfare and benefits to workers. The Proposed legislation would bring transparency and accountability which would lead to more effective enforcement. Widening the scope of minimum wages to all workers would be a big step of equity. The facilitation for ease of compliance of labour laws will promote setting up of more enterprises thus catalyzing the creation of employment opportunities.