Plea to link National Minimum Wage to Price Index

by Haryananewswire

CHANDIGARH, JAN 4

 Haryana Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Pt. Shiv Charan Lal Sharma has said that National Minimum Wage should be linked with price index and it should be revised at an interval of every five years.

Speaking at the 45th Session of the Standing Labour Committee in New Delhi today,  Mr Sharma said that minimum wage is a fundamental right and no labour or labours of an employment can be deprived of it. Haryana Government has ensured minimum wages in all the employments. The State Government also supports the fixation of minimum wages at national level and feels that it should be linked with the price index, so that there is increase in it in a regular manner.

Mr Sharma said that if some corrupt employer stops the wage of a labour or violates other related provisions, he should be punished for having done so. The punishment should be in the form of heavy fine, so that employer does not think of violating the provision again.

Talking about the contribution of unorganized sector in the progress of the country, Mr Sharma said that there is an urgent need to pay attention to minimum wage, social security and training in traditional skills for the labour in this sector. Mr Sharma suggested that a system like smart card or AADHAAR card should be started for different projects, being started for unorganized sector. If different projects become part of the system, a large number of labours will get the benefits.

Today’s meeting deliberated mainly upon the Action Taken Reports on the conclusions of 44th Session of Indian Labour Conference and finalized the Agenda for its 45th Session. The meeting was presided over by Union Labour and Employment Minister, Mr Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by the Labour Ministers of different states and officers.

Today’s meeting also deliberated on different aspects of social security for labour.  Supporting the proposed amendments in this connection, Mr Sharma said that Provident Fund Act should be properly followed and work of computerization should be expedited on improving the service conditions of workers in Anganwadies should be improved, so that work of Anganwadies is effectively carried on. About the training of workers, Mr Sharma said that the service sector is particularly short of trained hands. Service sector is contributing more than 60 per cent in the GDP, therefore, vocational training in this sector will be more beneficial, he said.