E.L.L.

ASSIGNMENT
Name -Vimal Kumar Singh 2011/48 ROLL NO.-PGExP-

Payment of Wages Act, 1936

The payment of wages act was passed in 1936 and it came into force from 28 March,1937. Thereafter, the Act was amended in 1937, 1940, 1951, 1957, 1964, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1977 and 1982 The payment of wages Act, 1982 extended the application of the Act to cover person whose average wages are below Rs 1600/- (one thousand and six hundred rupees) .

Objects of the Act

The preamble of the Act lays down its object as an Act to regulate the payment of wages to certain classes of persons employed in industry. The essential features of the Act are related to(i) the date of payment of wages and (ii) the deductions from wages whether as fine or otherwise. In Arvind Mill Ltd. Vs K.R. Gadgill (1941), it was observed by the Bombay High court that the general purpose of the Act is to provide that the employed persons shall be paid their wages in a particular from and at regular intervals without any unauthorised deductions. The words certain classes of persons in the preamble are also important. The applicability of the Act is discussed below.

Application of the Act

The payment of wages Act, 1936 is applicable to whole of India. It applies in the first instance to the payment of wages to (I) persons employed in any factory ; and (ii) to persons employed in any Railway by Railway Administration either directly or through a sub conductors or by persons fulfilling a contract with the Railways. Responsibility for Payment of Wages : According to Section 3 of the Act, every employer is responsible for the payment, to persons employed by him, of all wages required to be paid under the Act. In case of persons employed

(a) in factories, if a person has been named manager of the factory under clause (6) of subsection (1) of section 7 of Factories Act, 1948 (b) in industrial establishments, where a person is responsible to the employer for the supervision and control of the establishment ; and (c) upon the Railways, the person nominated by the railway Administration in this behalf for the local area concerned (d) the person so named, the person so responsible to the employer, or the person so nominated, as the case may be, shall also be responsible for such payment. Wage Period (Section 4). Every person responsible for the payment of wages under section 3 shall fix the wage periods in respect of which the wages shall be payable. No wage period shall exceed one month.

Time and Mode of Payment

1.In a railway, factory or industrial establishment in which less than 1000 persons are employed, wages must be paid before the expiry of the seventh day after the last day of the wage period in respect of which the wages are payable. In all other factories or industrial establishments, wages must be paid before the expiry of the tenth day from the last day of the wage period as aforesaid. 2.Where the employment of any person is terminated by or on behalf of the employer, the wages earned by him shall be paid before the expiry of the second working day from the day on which his employment is terminated. 3.The State Government may exempt the persons employed in a railway from the operation of this section, partially or wholly. 4. All the payment of wages shall be made on a working day. Penalty for contravention is fine up to five hundred rupees.All wages shall, be paid in current coins or currency notes or in both. The employermay, after obtaining the written consent of the employed person pay him the wageseither by cheque or by crediting the wages in his bank account.

Deduction from Wages.

The wages of employed persons shall be paid to them without deduction of any kind except those authorised by or under the Payment of Wages Act.

What is deduction ? Every payment made by the employed person to the employer or his agent shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be a deduction from wages. What is not a deduction ? Any class of wages resulting from the imposition of any of the following penalties(i) the withholding of increment or promotion; (ii) the reduction to a lower post or time scale to a lower stage in a time scale ; or (iii) Suspension; shall not be deemed to be deduction from wages in any case where the rules framed by the employer for the imposition of any such penalty are in conformity with the requirements, if any, which may be specified in this behalf by the State Government by notification in the official Gazette.

Authorised Deductions
Deduction from the wages of an employed person shall be made only in accordance with the provisions of this Act and may be of the following kinds only: (a) Fines (b) Deductions for absence from duty (c) Deduction for loss of goods (d) House Accommodation (e) Amenities and Services (J) Recovery of Advances (g) Recovery of Loans (h) Recovery of Loans for House-building (i) Income Tax (j) Orders of Court (k) Provident Fund (1) Co-operative Societies (m) Prime Ministers National Relief Fund (n) Life Insurance Policy (o) Acceptance of Counterfeit Coins (p) Insurance Premium on Fidelity Guarantee Bonds (q) Failure to invoice or to collect (r) Incorrects Rebates or Refunds

Rule Making Power

The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act. It may also make rules to regulate the procedure to be followed by the Authorities and Courts referred to in Sections 15 and 17. In particular, the rules may relate to (1) maintenance of records, registers, notices etc. (ii) display of notices on premises (iii) inspection (iv) the manner of giving notice of the days on which wages will be paid (v) procedure for imposition of fines under Section 8 and for the making of deductions under Sections 9, 10 and 12 (vi) powers of Inspectors (vii) amount of. court fees

payable in respect of any proceedings under the Act (viii) abstracts to be contained in the notices required by section 25 (ix) for any other matter which is to be or may be prescribed.

Minimum Wages Act, 1948.

The minimum Wages Act was passed in 1948 to secure the welfare of unorganised workers .in certain industries by fixing the minimum rates of wages. The Act empowers the appropriate Government for fixation of minimum wages in employments enumerated in the schedule to the Act. The fixation of minimum wages relates to the industries where sweated labour is most prevalent or where there is inevitable chance of exploitation. In prescribing the minimum wage rates the capacity of the employers need not be considered as the state assumes that every employer must pay the minimum wages if he employs labour.

Broad Features of the Act: The broad features of the Minimum Wages Act are as under:
1. The minimum Wages Act lays down the principles for fixation of: (i) a minimum time rate of wages, (ii) a minimum piece rate (iii) a guaranteed time rate, and (iv) an overtime rate for different occupations, localities or classes of work and for adults, adolescents, children and apprentices. 2. The minimum rate of wages may consist of: (1) a basic rate of wages and a cost of living allowance ; or (ii) a basic rate of wages with or without the cost of living allowance and the cash value of the concessions in respect of essential commodities supplied at concessional rates. 3. The Act lays down that wages shall be paid in cash although, it empowers the appropriate Government to authorise the payment of minimum wages either wholly or partly in kind in particular cases. 4. The Act provides that the cost of living allowance and cash value of the concessions in respect of supplies of essential commodities at concessional rate shall be computed by the competent

authority at certain intervals. In case of undertakings controlled by the union territories and Central Government the Director of Labour Bureau is the competent authority. 5. The Act empowers the appropriate Government to fix the number of hours of work per day, to provide for a weekly holiday and the payment of over-time wages of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under the Act. Competent Authority It means the authority appointed by the appropriate Government by notification in the official Gazette to as certain from time to time the cost of liviig index number applicable to the employees in the scheduled employments specified in such notification.

Cost of Living Index Number

It means the index number ascertained and declared by the component authority by notification in the official Gazette to be the cost of living index number applicable to employees in any scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed The term cost of living index number has been replaced by most of the State Government by the term consumer price index number

Employer
The term employer means any person who employees either directly or through another person one or more employees in the scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates f wages have been fixed. When workers are employed through a contractor the contractor is an employer within the meaning of the Act But the owner of a place where scheduled employment is carried on is not an employer if he is not concerned with such employment.

Scheduled Employment
It means an employment specified in the schedule or any process or branch of work forming part of such employment. The schedule as given in the Act has been reproduced later.

Wages
It means all remuneration capable of being expressed in terms of money, which would, if the

terms of contract of employment were fulfilled, be payable to a person employed in respect of his employment or of work done in such employment.

Employee
The term employee means any person who is employed for hire or reward, to do any work skilled or unskilled, manual or clerical in a scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed.

Fixation of Minimum rate of wages

The Act provides for the fixation of minimum rates of wages payable to employees for the specified class of employment, for the whole state or for a part of the state and to review minimum rates of wages so fixed and revise, if necessary, at such intervals as it may think fit, but not exceeding 5 years.

Payment of Minimum Rate Wages

Where in respect of any scheduled employment, the appropriate Government has fixed and notified minimum rates of wages, the employer is bound to pay every employee engaged in that employment under him the wages at rates not less than what is notified.

Timings of Payment of Wages

The wages of a worker in any scheduled employment shall -be paid on a working day. In the case of establishments in which less than one thousand persons are employed, the wages shall be paid before the expiry of the seventh day after the last day of the wage period in respect of which the wages are payable. In all other factories, wages must be paid before the expiry of the tenth day from the wake period aforesaid.

PAYMENT OF MINIMUM WAGES Wages in Kind

Minimum wages under this Act must be paid in cash But this section authorises the payment of minimum wages in kind, where the appropriate Government is of the opinion, that it has been the custom to pay wages wholly or partly in kind.

Wages for Overtime

When a worker works in any scheduled employment for more than nine hours on any day or forty eight hours in any week, he shall be entitled to wages at one and a half time the ordinary rates of wages in the case of employment in agriculture and at double the ordinary rate of wages in any other scheduled employment.

Penalties An employer who pays to any employee less than the prescribed minimum rate of wages or infringes any order or rule, may be punished with imprisonment upto six months and / or with fine up to five hundred rupees or both.