Lok Sabha Question No. 1371 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-25
Subject: Minimum Wages
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Rodmal Nagar, Chandra Prakash Joshi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1371 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.07.2022

## MINIMUM WAGES

†1371.  SHRI RODMAL NAGAR: SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)whether the Government has taken any decision regarding increase in minimum wages for the labourers across the country amid rising inflation;
- (b)if so, the details of category-wise minimum wages of each State and whether  the  minimum  wages  have  been  increased  and  if  so,  the
- details thereof;
- (c)whether there is any kind of system for the monitoring to ensure the payment of minimum wages; and
- (d)if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

(a) & (b): Under the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, both the  Central  Government  and  the  State  Governments  are  appropriate Governments  to  fix,  review  and  revise  the  minimum  wages  of  the employees  employed  in  the  scheduled  employments  under  their respective jurisdictions. In order to take care of the rising prices, the Central Government revises the Variable Dearness Allowance (V.D.A) on basic rates of minimum wages every six months effective from 1st April  and  1st  October  of  every  year  on  the  basis  of  Consumer  Price Index for Industrial workers. V.D.A. was last revised w.e.f. 01.04.2022. A  statement  showing  increase  in  the  rates  of  wages  on  account  of increasing V.D.A payable to the employees engaged in the scheduled employments in the Central Sphere is at  Annexure I.  The details of periodic revision of minimum rates of wages in scheduled employments in the State sphere are not centrally maintained.

(c) & (d): Both  the  Central  Government  and  the  State  Governments are  the  appropriate  Governments  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  the Payment  of  Wages  Act,  1936,  and  the  Minimum  Wages  Act,  1948, including  the  provisions  relating  to  non-payment  of  wages/minimum wages,  in  their  respective  jurisdictions.  In  the  Central  sphere  the enforcement  is  done  through  the  Inspecting  Officers  of  the  Chief Labour Commissioner  (Central) commonly  designated  as Central Industrial Relations Machinery (CIRM) and the compliance in the State Sphere  is  ensured  through  the  State  Enforcement  Machinery.  The designated inspecting officers conduct regular inspections and in the event  of  detection  of  any  case  of  non-payment  or  underpayment  of wages/minimum wages, they direct the employers to make payment of the  shortfall  of  wages.  In  case  of  non-compliance,  penal  provisions prescribed  under  Section  22  of  the  Minimum  Wages  Act  are  taken recourse  to.  The  details  in  regard  to  enforcement  of  the  minimum wages  in  the  Scheduled  employments  in  the  Central  Sphere  are  at Annexure II. Details of enforcement of the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, in the State sphere are not centrally maintained.

**                                                             ******

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  &  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UN-STARRED QUESTION No. 1371 FOR 25.07.2022 REGARDING MINIMUM WAGES.

## STATEMENT SHOWING INCREASED RATES OF MINIMUM WAGES ON ACCOUNT OF REVISION OF VDA FROM 19.01.2017 TO 01.04.2022.

| Scheduled Employment                                                 | Category of Workers                                                           | Rates of Wages including V.D.A per day (in Rs.)                             | Rates of Wages including V.D.A per day (in Rs.)                             | Rates of Wages including V.D.A per day (in Rs.)                             | Rates of Wages including V.D.A per day (in Rs.)                             | Rates of Wages including V.D.A per day (in Rs.)                             | Rates of Wages including V.D.A per day (in Rs.)                             |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Scheduled Employment                                                 | Category of Workers                                                           | Area A                                                                      | Area A                                                                      | Area B                                                                      | Area B                                                                      | Area C                                                                      | Area C                                                                      |
| Scheduled Employment                                                 | Category of Workers                                                           | 19.01.2017                                                                  | 01.04.2022                                                                  | 19.01.2017                                                                  | 01.04.2022                                                                  | 19.01.2017                                                                  | 01.04.2022                                                                  |
| Agriculture                                                          | Unskilled                                                                     | 333                                                                         | 423                                                                         | 303                                                                         | 385                                                                         | 300                                                                         | 382                                                                         |
| Agriculture                                                          | Semi-skilled/Unskilled Supervisory                                            | 364                                                                         | 461                                                                         | 335                                                                         | 425                                                                         | 307                                                                         | 389                                                                         |
| Agriculture                                                          | Skilled/Clerical                                                              | 395                                                                         | 502                                                                         | 364                                                                         | 461                                                                         | 334                                                                         | 424                                                                         |
| Agriculture                                                          | Highly-skilled                                                                | 438                                                                         | 554                                                                         | 407                                                                         | 516                                                                         | 364                                                                         | 461                                                                         |
| Sweeping and Cleaning+                                               | Unskilled                                                                     | 523                                                                         | 663                                                                         | 437                                                                         | 553                                                                         | 350                                                                         | 443                                                                         |
| Watch and Ward                                                       | Without Arms ( Upgraded to skilled with training)                             | 637                                                                         | 806                                                                         | 579                                                                         | 734                                                                         | 494                                                                         | 625                                                                         |
| Watch and Ward                                                       | With Arms( Upgraded to highly skilled for supervision)                        | 693                                                                         | 876                                                                         | 637                                                                         | 806                                                                         | 579                                                                         | 734                                                                         |
| Loading & Unloading#                                                 | Unskilled                                                                     | 523                                                                         | 663                                                                         | 437                                                                         | 553                                                                         | 350                                                                         | 443                                                                         |
| Construction ^                                                       | Unskilled                                                                     | 523                                                                         | 663                                                                         | 437                                                                         | 553                                                                         | 350                                                                         | 443                                                                         |
| Construction ^                                                       | Semi-skilled/Unskilled Supervisory                                            | 579                                                                         | 734                                                                         | 494                                                                         | 625                                                                         | 410                                                                         | 519                                                                         |
| Construction ^                                                       | Skilled/Clerical                                                              | 637                                                                         | 806                                                                         | 579                                                                         | 734                                                                         | 494                                                                         | 625                                                                         |
| Construction ^                                                       | Highly-skilled                                                                | 693                                                                         | 876                                                                         | 637                                                                         | 806                                                                         | 579                                                                         | 734                                                                         |
| Construction ^                                                       | 19.01.2017                                                                    | 19.01.2017                                                                  | 19.01.2017                                                                  | 19.01.2017                                                                  | 19.01.2017                                                                  | 01.04.2022                                                                  | 01.04.2022                                                                  |
| Workers engaged in Stone Mines for Stone Breaking and Stone Crushing | 1.Excavation &removal of over burden with 50 meters lead/1.5 meters lift: *   | 1.Excavation &removal of over burden with 50 meters lead/1.5 meters lift: * | 1.Excavation &removal of over burden with 50 meters lead/1.5 meters lift: * | 1.Excavation &removal of over burden with 50 meters lead/1.5 meters lift: * | 1.Excavation &removal of over burden with 50 meters lead/1.5 meters lift: * | 1.Excavation &removal of over burden with 50 meters lead/1.5 meters lift: * | 1.Excavation &removal of over burden with 50 meters lead/1.5 meters lift: * |
| Workers engaged in Stone Mines for Stone Breaking and Stone Crushing | (a) Soft Soil                                                                 |                                                                             | 351                                                                         | 351                                                                         |                                                                             | 447                                                                         | 447                                                                         |
| Workers engaged in Stone Mines for Stone Breaking and Stone Crushing | (b) Soft Soil with Rock                                                       |                                                                             | 531                                                                         | 531                                                                         | 672                                                                         | 672                                                                         | 672                                                                         |
| Workers engaged in Stone Mines for Stone Breaking and Stone Crushing | (c) Rock                                                                      |                                                                             | 703                                                                         | 703                                                                         | 890                                                                         | 890                                                                         | 890                                                                         |
| Workers engaged in Stone Mines for Stone Breaking and Stone Crushing | 2. Removal and Staking of rejected stones with 50 metres lead/1.5metres lift* |                                                                             | 283                                                                         | 283                                                                         | 359                                                                         | 359                                                                         | 359                                                                         |
| Workers engaged in Stone Mines for Stone Breaking and Stone Crushing | 3. Stone breaking or Stone Crushing for the stone size of **                  | 3. Stone breaking or Stone Crushing for the stone size of **                | 3. Stone breaking or Stone Crushing for the stone size of **                | 3. Stone breaking or Stone Crushing for the stone size of **                | 3. Stone breaking or Stone Crushing for the stone size of **                | 3. Stone breaking or Stone Crushing for the stone size of **                | 3. Stone breaking or Stone Crushing for the stone size of **                |
| Workers engaged in Stone Mines for Stone Breaking and Stone Crushing | (a) 1.0 inch to 1.5 inches                                                    |                                                                             | 2171                                                                        | 2171                                                                        | 2736                                                                        | 2736                                                                        | 2736                                                                        |
| Workers engaged in Stone Mines for Stone Breaking and Stone Crushing | (b) Above 1.5 Inches to 3.0 Inches                                            |                                                                             | 1857                                                                        | 1857                                                                        | 2340                                                                        | 2340                                                                        | 2340                                                                        |
| Workers engaged in Stone Mines for Stone Breaking and Stone Crushing | (c) Above 3.0 Inches to 5 Inches                                              |                                                                             | 1088                                                                        | 1088                                                                        | 1374                                                                        | 1374                                                                        | 1374                                                                        |
| Non - Coal Mines $                                                   | (d) Above 5.0 Inches                                                          | 893                                                                         |                                                                             |                                                                             | 1129                                                                        | 1129                                                                        | 1129                                                                        |
|                                                                      |                                                                               | Above Ground {Rates of Wages including V.D.A per day (in Rs.)}              | Above Ground {Rates of Wages including V.D.A per day (in Rs.)}              | Above Ground {Rates of Wages including V.D.A per day (in Rs.)}              | Below Ground {Rates of Wages including V.D.A per day (in Rs.)}              | Below Ground {Rates of Wages including V.D.A per day (in Rs.)}              | Below Ground {Rates of Wages including V.D.A per day (in Rs.)}              |
|                                                                      |                                                                               | 19.01.2017                                                                  | 19.01.2017                                                                  | 01.04.2022                                                                  | 19.01.2017                                                                  | 19.01.2017                                                                  | 01.04.2022                                                                  |
|                                                                      | Unskilled                                                                     | 350                                                                         |                                                                             | 443                                                                         | 437                                                                         | 437                                                                         | 553                                                                         |
|                                                                      | Semi-skilled/Unskilled Supervisory                                            | 437                                                                         |                                                                             | 553                                                                         | 523                                                                         | 523                                                                         | 663                                                                         |
|                                                                      | Skilled/Clerical                                                              | 523                                                                         |                                                                             | 663                                                                         | 610                                                                         | 610                                                                         | 772                                                                         |
|                                                                      | Highly-skilled                                                                | 610                                                                         |                                                                             | 772                                                                         | 683                                                                         | 683                                                                         | 862                                                                         |

+ Employees  engaged  in  the  employment  of  Sweeping  and  Cleaning  excluding  Activities  prohibited  under  the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993.

# Employees engaged in the employment of Loading and Unloading in (i) Goods Sheds, Parcel Offices of Railways; (ii)  Other  Goods  Sheds,  Godowns,  Warehouses  and  other  similar  employments;    (iii)  Docks  and  Ports;  and  (iv) Passengers Goods and Cargo Carried out at Airports (Both International and Domestic).

^ Employees  engaged  in  the  employment  of  construction  or  maintenance  of  Roads  or  Runways  or  in  Building Operations  including  laying  down  Underground  Electric,  Wireless,  Radio,  Television,  Telephone,  Telegraph  and Overseas Communication Cables and similar other Underground Cabling Work, Electric Lines, Water Supply Lines and Sewerage Pipe Lines.

$ Employees  engaged  in  the  employment  of  Gypsum  Mines,  Barytes  Mines,  Bauxite  Mines,  Manganese  Mines, China Clay Mines, Kyanite Mines, Copper Mines, Clay Mines, Magnesite Mines, White Clay Mines, Stone Mines, Steatite  Mines  (including  the  mines  producing  Soap  Stones  and  Talc),  Ochre  Mines,  Asbestos  Mines,  Fire  Clay Mines,  Chromite  Mines,  Quartzite  Mines,  Quartz  Mines,  Silica  Mines,  Graphite  Mines,  Felspar  Mines,  Laterite Mines,  Dolomite  Mines,  Red  Oxide  Mines,  Wolfram  Mines,  Iron  Ore  Mines,  Granite  Mines,  Rock  Phosphate Mines,  Hematite  Mines,  Marble  and  Calcite  Mines,  Uranium  Mines,  Mica  Mines,  Lignite  Mines,  Gravel  Mines, Slate and Magnetite Mines.

## CLASSIFICATION  OF  AREA

| AREA - 'A'        | AREA - 'A'   | AREA - 'A'           | AREA - 'A'   | AREA - 'A'        | AREA - 'A'   |
|-------------------|--------------|----------------------|--------------|-------------------|--------------|
| Ahmedabad         | (UA)         | Hyderabad            | (UA)         | Faridabad complex |              |
| Bangaluru         | (UA)         | Kanpur               | (UA)         | Ghaziabad         |              |
| Kolkata           | (UA)         | Lucknow              | (UA)         | Gurgaon           |              |
| Delhi             | (UA)         | Chennai              | (UA)         | Noida             |              |
| Greater Mumbai    | (UA)         | Nagpur               | (UA)         | Secunderabad      |              |
| Navi Mumbai       | Pune         | Pune                 | (UA)         | Pune              |              |
| AREA - 'B'        | AREA - 'B'   | AREA - 'B'           | AREA - 'B'   | AREA - 'B'        | AREA - 'B'   |
| Agra              | (UA)         | Gwalior              | (UA)         | Port Blair        | (UA)         |
| Ajmer             | (UA)         | Hubli-Dharwad        | (M. Corpn)   | Puducherry        | (UA)         |
| Aligarh           | (UA)         | Indore               | (UA)         | Raipur            | (UA)         |
| Allahabad         | (UA)         | Jabalpur             | (UA)         | Raurkela          | (UA)         |
| Amravati          | (M.Corpn)    | Jaipur               | (M.Corpn)    | Rajkot            | (UA)         |
| Amritsar          | (UA)         | Jalandhar            | (UA)         | Ranchi            | (UA)         |
| Asansol           | (UA)         | Jalandhar-Cantt.     | (UA)         | Saharanpur        | (M.Corpn)    |
| Aurangabad        | (UA)         | Jammu                | (UA)         | Salem             | (UA)         |
| Bareilly          | (UA)         | Jamnagar             | (UA)         | Sangli            | (UA)         |
| Belgaum           | (UA)         | Jamshedpur           | (UA)         | Shillong          |              |
| Bhavnagar         | (UA)         | Jhansi               | (UA)         | Siliguri          | (UA)         |
| Bhiwandi          | (UA)         | Jodhpur              | (UA)         | Solapur           | (M.Corpn)    |
| Bhopal            | (UA)         | Kannur               | (UA)         | Srinagar          | (UA)         |
| Bhubaneshwar      | (UA)         | Kochi                | (UA)         | Surat             | (UA)         |
| Bikaner           | (M.Corpn)    | Kolhapur             | (UA)         | Thiruvanantapuram | (UA)         |
| Bokaro Steel City | (UA)         | Kollam               | (UA)         | Thrissur          | (UA)         |
| Chandigarh        | (UA)         | Kota                 | (M.Corpn)    | Tiruchirappalli   | (UA)         |
| Coimbatore        | (UA)         | Kozhikode            | (UA)         | Tiruppur          | (UA)         |
| Cuttack           | (UA)         | Ludhiana             | (M.Corpn)    | Ujjain            | (M.Corpn)    |
| Dehradun          | (UA)         | Madurai              | (UA)         | Vadodara          | (UA)         |
| Dhanbad           | (UA)         | Malappuram           | (UA)         | Varanasi          | (UA)         |
| Durgapur          | (UA)         | Malegaon             | (UA)         | Vasai- Virar City | (M.Corpn)    |
| Durg-Bhilai Nagar | (UA)         | Mangalore            | (UA)         | Vijayawada        | (UA)         |
| Erode             | (UA)         | Meerut               | (UA)         | Vishakhapatnam    | (M.Corpn)    |
| Firozabad         |              | Moradabad            | (M. Corpn)   | Warangal          | (UA)         |
| Goa               |              | Mysore               | (UA)         | Gorakhpur         | (UA)         |
| NandedWaghala     | (M. Corpn)   | GreaterVisakhapatnam | (M.Corpn)    | Nasik             | (UA)         |
| Gulbarga          | (UA)         | Nellore              | (UA)         | Guntur            | (UA)         |
| Panchkula         | (UA)         | Guwahati             | (UA)         | Patna             | (UA)         |

Area 'C' will comprise all areas not mentioned in this list.

NB : U.A. stands for Urban Agglomeration.

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (c) & (d) OF LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION No. 1371 FOR 25.07.2022 REGARDING MINIMUM WAGES.

## Details of Inspections, Prosecutions and Convictions done under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948

| Particulars   |   No. of Inspections Conducted |   No. of Irregularities detected |   No. Irregularities Rectified |   No. of Prosecutions Launched |   No. of Convictions |
|---------------|--------------------------------|----------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|----------------------|
| 1             |                              2 |                                3 |                              4 |                              5 |                    6 |
| 2019-20       |                           7690 |                            59950 |                          23397 |                           1609 |                  412 |
| 2020-21       |                           2114 |                            13949 |                           7566 |                            501 |                  174 |
| 2021-22       |                           5022 |                            35983 |                           8726 |                            492 |                  167 |

## Claim cases under Minimum Wages Act, 1948

| Year    | CLAIMS FILED UNDER MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948   | CLAIMS FILED UNDER MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948   | CLAIMS FILED UNDER MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948   | CLAIMS FILED UNDER MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948   |
|---------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
|         | FILED                                        | DECIDED                                      | AWARDED                                      | No. of WORKERS BENEFITED                     |
| 1       | 2                                            | 3                                            | 4                                            | 5                                            |
| 2019-20 | 3470                                         | 754                                          | Rs. 217981002/-                              | 5297                                         |
| 2020-21 | 3763                                         | 1334                                         | Rs. 270202177/-                              | 7631                                         |
| 2021-22 | 5297                                         | 2102                                         | Rs. 177722490/-                              | 7487                                         |

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