National Floor Level Minimum Wage Remains Unchanged Since 2017, Labour Codes Not Yet Implemented

New Delhi: In an indication of intensifying income crisis among large sections of population, especially daily-wage labourers, the non-binding National Floor Level Minimum Wage (NFLMW) has remained unchanged since 2017.

While the NFLMW has only persuasive value, its timely revision by the Union government followed by the states adhering to the norms would have allowed workers in various sectors such as plantations and services to benefit from the economy’s buoyancy and escape poverty, reported Financial Express.

The revision of NFLMW is done after factoring in the rise in the consumer price index for industrial workers (CPI-IW).

Owing to the fact that the NFLMW has only persuasive value, the Union Government can only request the states and Union territories to fix and revise the minimum wages for all scheduled employments in their respective domains, ensuring they are not below the NFLMW.

“The NDA government has taken credit for having passed the Wage Code in August 2019. In fact, none of the four labour codes has been implemented. Minimum wage is the bare minimum a worker should get. If it is not revised periodically, labour welfare will be seriously affected. It is time for the NDA government to implement the Wage Code and establish a statutory national floor-level minimum wage, which will benefit millions of workers,” labour economist K.R. Shyam Sundar told the newspaper.

At present, barring a few, most of the states keep minimum wages for many ‘scheduled employments’ lower than the NFLMW. For example, at present the minimum wage for an unskilled worker in Delhi is Rs. 710 per day, but at the same time this figure is only Rs. 428 in Bihar.

In some states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the actual wages are generally higher than the notified minimum.

The Wage Code, passed in Parliament and notified but not yet implemented, aims to universalise the provisions of minimum wage across employment in organised and unorganised sectors.

The last time the NFLMW was revised was in June 2017, when it was hiked by 10%. Earlier in July 2015, it was hiked by 17% to Rs 160, reported Financial Express.

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