New Delhi, Oct 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Delhi government to go-ahead with its notification on higher minimum wages, resulting in a 37 per cent hike in workers' minimum wages.
A bench of Justices U.U. Lalit and Aniruddha Bose said: "We allow the petitioner state (Delhi government) to take the draft notification to the logical conclusion and direct that till said notification comes into effect, the relationship shall be governed by and in terms of the notification dated March 3,2017 as directed in the order October 31, 2018. Once the notification is issued, the appropriate legal consequence and sequitur shall follow."
The Delhi government has proposed Rs14, 842 per month for unskilled workers and Rs 16, 341 per month for clerical and supervisory staff (non matriculates).
The apex court observed that if any person is aggrieved by the notification, he shall be entitled to take recourse to legal remedies. This case has been pending in courts for nearly two years.
According to a Delhi government official, all permanent, fixed term, contractual, casual as well as daily-wage workers will benefit from this order.
The counsel for employers submitted that the issue as to the correctness of the view taken by the Delhi High Court would still be required to be gone into. "The objections raised by the employers were dismissed by the apex court, as it made its decision on the wage hike notification," said a Delhi government official. The High Court decision came on a plea by employers who argued that the burden of minimum wages and its upward revision would badly affect them.
"The correctness of the decision of the High Court, which is presently under appeal, shall be required to be considered. We, therefore, grant special leave to appeal," said the apex court reversing the High Court verdict last year, quashing the government notification on minimum wages.
Last year, the High Court verdict was appealed in the apex court, which gave interim relief to the Delhi government. Delhi's Labour Department opted for procedure for wage fixation/revision as provided u/s 5(1)(b) of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
Various trade unions and market associations/factory owners associations/employer associations were requested to recommend/suggest name of one member who would be nominated as a member of the Delhi Minimum Wages Advisory Board to be constituted under section 7 of the Minimum Wages Act. After receiving nomination/names from these organizations, the Minimum Wages Advisory Board was constituted in January 2019 after getting approval of the Lt. Governor.
The Board held four meetings to deliberate on the subject of wage revision taking into account all the suggestions received from all the parties/ stakeholders. "Pursuant to the fresh exercise carried out by the petitioner under Section 5(1)(b) of the Act, the petitioner (Delhi government) has drafted the proposed notification as directed by apex court vide its order in October 2018," said the Delhi government in its response.
Source: IANS
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