Last week, the parliament of India passed the
Code on Wages Bill, 2019 ("the Bill"). The Bill will
enable the federal government to fix minimum statutory wage for
millions of workers.
The Bill is the first in the series of four labor codes that the
government is working on to rationalize its 44 labor laws and improve the ease of doing
business in the country.
The Bill seeks to subsume relevant provisions of the previous
laws pertaining to workers' wages, equal remuneration for men
and women, its payment and bonus. The other three codes will deal
with social security, industrial safety and
welfare, and industrial relations.
While the Bill is not yet law, employers should familiarize
themselves with the Bill now to understand how it may impact their
operations. Large-scale employers in particularly should watch the
Bill's development to understand its potential business
impact.
