Telangana State Multiple Contractors Labour Union vs Union Of India

Sl.

No.","Name of the

Scheduled

Employment","Min. Wage

per day to the

Unskilled in

“Câ€​ area

calculated by

the Dept. as

per norms &

regulations (in

Rs.)",Preliminary Notification,,Final Notification,

,,,S.O. No. & Date,"Min.wages

per Day

proposed to

Unskilled in

“Câ€​

Area (in Rs.)","S.O. No. &

Date","Min.wages

per Day

fixed to

Unskilled in

“Câ€​

Area (in Rs.)

1,2,3,4,5,6,7

1.,Agriculture,350-00,"2832 (E), 01-09-

16",300.00,"186 (E), 19-01-

17",300.00

2.,Non-Coal Mines,400.00,"2833(E), 01-09-

16",350.00,"187(E), 19-01-17",350.00

3.,"Construction or

Maintenance of

Roads, etc.",400.00,"2834(E), 01-09-

16",350.00,"188(E), 19-01-17",350.00

4.,Stone Mines,400.00,"2835(E), 01-09-

16",351.00,"189(E), 19-01-17",351.00

5.,Sweeping & Cleaning,400.00,"2836(E), 01-09-

16",350.00,"190(E), 19-01-17",350.00

6.,Watch & ward,400.00,"2837(E),

01-09-16","No Category

of Unskilled","191(E),

19-01-17","No Category

of Unskilled

7.,Loading & Unloading,400.00,"2838(E), 01-09-

16",350.00,"192(E), 19-01-17",350.00

years. The respondent/Union of India has stated that a detailed procedure is prescribed under Section 5 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and a",,,,,,

Minimum Wages Act Advisory Board was constituted as per Section 7 of the Minimum Wages Act and a meeting was held on 29.08.2016 under the,,,,,,

Chairmanship of the Minister of Labour and Employment. It has been further stated that after great deliberations, a draft notification was issued",,,,,,

relating to incorporating the minimum wage, the VDA and the Revised classification of area for scheduled employments of Central Governments was",,,,,,

prepared. A Notification was issued and was published in Official Gazette on 01.09.2016 inviting objections/ suggestions within a period of two,,,,,,

months. The objections received in the matter were examined and the competent authority has approved the final Notification, which was published on",,,,,,

19.01.2017. The respondent/Union of India has further stated that after taking into account all the factors in the matter of revision of wages, a final",,,,,,

Notification was issued with the approval of the competent authority notifying the wages as Rs.300/- per day and Rs.350/- per day for agricultural and,,,,,,

industrial workers. The respondent/Union of India has further stated that minimum wages are fixed based upon the recommendations of the ILC, 1957",,,,,,

and the Judgment delivered by the Hon’ble supreme Court in the case of Workmen represented by Secretary v. Management of Reptakos Brett,,,,,,

and Co., AIR 1992 SC 504. The respondent/Union of India has further stated that the norms of fixing minimum wages are - 3 consumption units for",,,,,,

one wage earner; minimum food requirements of 2700 calories per average Indian adult; clothing requirements of 72 yards per annum per family; rent,,,,,,

corresponding to the minimum area provided for under Government’s industrial housing scheme; fuel, lighting and other miscellaneous items of",,,,,,

expenditure (20% of the total minimum wage); guidelines issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of Workmen represented by,,,,,,

Secretary (supra) and children education, medical requirement, minimum recreation including festivals/ceremonies, provision for old age, marriage etc.,",,,,,,

and the same has to be 25% of the minimum wage. It has been further stated that the minimum wage keeping in view the norms is calculated only for,,,,,,

non-agricultural unskilled workers in class ‘C’ city using Labour Bureau Price Data. The wage thus calculated is taken into account for,,,,,,

calculation of wages of other categories of areas of ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’. It has been further stated that the wages are fixed and the",,,,,,

appropriate Notification is issued keeping in view the Minimum Wages Act. A prayer has also been made for dismissal of the writ petition.,,,,,,

Heard the learned counsel for the parties at length and perused the record. The matter is being disposed of at motion hearing stage itself with the,,,,,,

consent of the parties.,,,,,,

The undisputed facts of the case reveal that the petitioner is aggrieved by the Notifications issued by the Government of India, dated 19.01.2017 by",,,,,,

which the minimum wages to unskilled workmen under agricultural employment has been fixed at Rs.300/- per day and to unskilled workmen under,,,,,,

industrial employment has been fixed at Rs.350/- per day. The statutory provisions as contained in the Minimum Wages Act, which are necessary for",,,,,,

adjudication of the present Public Interest Litigation are reproduced as under:-,,,,,,

“3. Fixing of minimum rates of wages:- (1) The appropriate Government shall, in the manner hereinafter provided.",,,,,,

(a) fix the minimum rates of wages payable to employees employed in an employment specified in Part I or Part II of the Schedule and in an,,,,,,

employment added to either Part by notification under section 27 :,,,,,,

Provided that the appropriate Government may, in respect of employees employed in an employment specified in part II of the Schedule, instead of",,,,,,

fixing minimum rates of wages under this clause for the whole State, fix such rates for a part of the State or for any specified class or classes of such",,,,,,

employment in the whole State or part thereof;,,,,,,

(b) review at such intervals as it may think fit, such intervals not exceeding five years, the minimum rates of wages so fixed and revise the minimum",,,,,,

rates, if necessary:",,,,,,

Provided that where for any reason the appropriate Government has not reviewed the minimum rates of wages fixed by it in respect of any scheduled,,,,,,

employment within any interval of five years, nothing contained in this clause shall be deemed to prevent it from reviewing the minimum rates after the",,,,,,

expire of the said period of five years and revising them, if necessary, and until they are so revised the minimum rates in force immediately before the",,,,,,

expiry of the said period of five years shall continue in force.,,,,,,

(1A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the appropriate Government may refrain from fixing minimum rates of wages in respect",,,,,,

of any scheduled employment in which there are in the whole State less than one thousand employees engaged in such employment, but if at any time,",,,,,,

the appropriate Government comes to a finding after such inquiry, as it may make or cause to be made in this behalf, that the number of employees in",,,,,,

any scheduled employment in respect of which it has refrained from fixing minimum rates of wages has risen to one thousand or more, it shall fix",,,,,,

minimum rates of wages payable to employees in such employment as soon as may be after such finding.,,,,,,

(2) The appropriate Government may fix--,,,,,,

(a) a minimum rate of wages for time work (hereinafter referred to as “a minimum time rateâ€​);,,,,,,

(b) a minimum rate of wages for piece work (hereinafter referred to as “a minimum piece rateâ€​);,,,,,,

(c) a minimum rate of remuneration to apply in the case of employees employed on piece work for the purpose of securing to such employees a,,,,,,

minimum rate of wages on a time work basis (hereinafter referred to as “a guaranteed time rateâ€​);,,,,,,

(d) a minimum rate (whether a time rate or a piece rate) to apply in substitution for minimum rate which would otherwise be applicable, in respect of",,,,,,

overtime work done by employees (hereinafter referred to as “overtime rateâ€​);,,,,,,

(2A) Where in respect of an industrial dispute relating to the rates of wages payable to any of the employees employed in a scheduled employment,",,,,,,

any proceeding is pending before a Tribunal or National Tribunal under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947) or before any like authority",,,,,,

under any other law for the time being in force, or an award made by any Tribunal, National Tribunal or such authority is in operation, and a",,,,,,

notification fixing or revising the minimum rates of wages in respect of the scheduled employment is issued during the pendency of such proceeding or,,,,,,

the operation of the award, then, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the minimum rates of wages so fixed or so revised shall not apply to",,,,,,

those employees during the period in which the proceeding is pending and the award made therein is in operation or, as the case may be, where the",,,,,,

notification is issued during the period of operation of an award, during that period; and where such proceeding or award relates to the rates of wages",,,,,,

payable to all the employees in the scheduled employment, no minimum rates of wages shall be fixed or revised in respect of that employment during",,,,,,

the said period.,,,,,,

(3) In fixing or revising minimum rates of wages under this section,--",,,,,,

(a) different minimum rates of wages may be fixed for--,,,,,,

(i) different scheduled employments;,,,,,,

(ii) different classes of work in the same scheduled employment;,,,,,,

(iii) adults, adolescents, children and apprentices;",,,,,,

(iv) different localities;,,,,,,

(b) minimum rates of wages may be fixed by any one or more of the following wage-periods, namely :--",,,,,,

(i) by the hour,",,,,,,

(ii) by the day,",,,,,,

(iii) by the month, or",,,,,,

(iv) by such other larger wage- period as may be prescribed, and where such rates are fixed by the day or by the month, the manner of calculating",,,,,,

wages for a month or for a day, as the case may be, may be indicated:",,,,,,

Provided that where any wage-periods have been fixed under section 4 of the Payment of Wages Act 1936 (4 of 1936), minimum wages shall be",,,,,,

fixed in accordance therewith.,,,,,,

Procedure for fixing and revising minimum wages:-,,,,,,

(1) In fixing minimum rates of wages in respect of any scheduled employment for the first time under this Act or in revising minimum rates of wages,,,,,,

so fixed, the appropriate Government shall either--",,,,,,

(a) appoint as many committees and sub-committees as it considers necessary to hold enquiries and advise it in respect of such fixation or revision, as",,,,,,

the case may be, or",,,,,,

(b) by notification in the Official Gazette, publish its proposals for the information of persons likely to be affected thereby and specify a date, not less",,,,,,

than two months from the date of the notification, on which the proposals will be taken into consideration.",,,,,,

(2) After considering the advice of the committee or committees appointed under clause (a) of sub- section (1), or as the case may be, all",,,,,,

representations received by it before the date specified in the notification under clause (b) of that sub-section, the appropriate Government shall, by",,,,,,

notification in the Official Gazette, fix, or, as the case may be, revise the minimum rates of wages in respect of each scheduled employment, and",,,,,,

unless such notification otherwise provides, it shall come into force on the expiry of three months from the date of its issue:",,,,,,

Provided that where the appropriate Government proposes to revise the minimum rates of wages by the mode specified in clause (b) of sub-section,,,,,,

(1), the appropriate Government shall consult the Advisory Board also.",,,,,,

Advisory Board.-- For the purpose of co-ordinating the work of committees and sub-committees appointed under section 5 and advising the,,,,,,

appropriate Government generally in the matter of fixing and revising minimum rates of wages, the appropriate Government shall appoint an Advisory",,,,,,

Board.,,,,,,

Power of State Government to add to Schedule:- The appropriate Government, after giving by notification in the Official Gazette not less than",,,,,,

three months’ notice of its intention so to do, may, by like notification, add to either Part of the Schedule any employment in respect of which it is",,,,,,

of opinion that minimum rates of wages should be fixed under this Act, and thereupon the Schedule shall in its application to the State be deemed to be",,,,,,

amended accordingly.â€​,,,,,,

The Advisory Board as was constituted as per Section 7 of the Minimum Wages Act and Committees and Sub-committees are appointed for,,,,,,

advising the Government in the matter and for fixing and revising minimum rates of wages. In the instant case, the Minimum Wages Advisory Board",,,,,,

was constituted under Section 7 of the Minimum Wages Act and a meeting took place on 29.08.2016 under the chairmanship of Minister of Labour,,,,,,

and Employment. A draft notification was issued inviting objections/suggestions on 01.09.2016 and large number of objections/suggestions were,,,,,,

received in the matter. It is certainly true that for the purpose of fixing minimum wages, recommendations of ILF, 1957 and the Judgment of the",,,,,,

Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has to be taken into account and the affidavit filed by the respondent/Union of India reveals that all the factors,,,,,,

required for fixation of minimum wages were taken into account including the directions given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of,,,,,,

workmen represented by the Secretary (supra). It is nobody’s case that the objections/suggestions were not looked into and after taking into,,,,,,

account all the factors, the Government of India has issued the notification in the year 2017.",,,,,,

In the considered opinion of this Court, the revision of wages has been done as per the Expert Committee, i.e., Advisory Board and this Court is not",,,,,,

an expert committee to substitute its view in the matter of revision of wages. However, the petitioner does have a reasonable claim of revision of",,,,,,

wages after every five years as the statute provides for revising the same. In the present case, the revision was done in the year 2019 and now, the",,,,,,

subsequent revision ahs to be done immediately before the expiry of a period of five years. The petitioner is having genuine grievance in the matter of,,,,,,

time, which is taken place in revision of wages. There has been a delay of 7-11 years in revising the wages and therefore, this Court is of the opinion",,,,,,

that to the extent the grievance in respect of not revising the pay scales after internal of five years is concerned, it is a genuine grievance and",,,,,,

therefore, in future, the respondent/ Union of India shall revise the wages at the interval of five years as it is the mandate of law as provided under the",,,,,,

Minimum Wages Act. It is nobody’s case that objections were not considered nor decided by the respondent/Union of India wile fixing the,,,,,,

minimum wages and therefore, in case a fresh notification is issued inviting objections, all the grounds for revising the wages further and for taking into",,,,,,

account all the factors shall be available to the petitioner/Union and other worker unions. However, so far as the present case is concerned, this Court",,,,,,

is of the opinion that the respondent/Union of India has followed the law laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court as well as the ILC, 1957 while",,,,,,

revising the wages.,,,,,,

This Court is not an expert body for the purpose of fixation of pay and can interfere in the matter only when the decision taken by the appropriate,,,,,,

Government is contrary to the statutory provisions as contained in the Minimum Wages Act. Therefore, this Court does not find any reason to",,,,,,

interfere with the Standing Order Nos.186(E) to 192 (E) issued by the Government of India in the year 2017 and therefore, no case is made out for",,,,,,

interference in the matter.,,,,,,

Resultantly, the Public Interest Litigation is dismissed. Miscellaneous petitions, if any pending, shall stand closed. There shall be no order as to",,,,,,

costs.,,,,,,