Non-compliance of Wage Laws: Rajya Sabha QA

Non-compliance of Wage Laws – Government is aware that certain companies in the country have not been complying with the national wage laws: Rajya Sabha QA

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 561
TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.07.2022

NON- COMPLIANCE OF WAGE LAWS

561. PROF. MANOJ KUMAR JHA:

Will the Minister of Labour and Employment be pleased to state:

(a) whether Government is aware that certain companies in the country have not been complying with the national wage laws;

(b) whether Government has maintained a database of such violations, if so, the details thereof; and

(c) whether any compensation has been provided to the aggrieved persons due to non- compliance of the law, if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

(a) to (c): Under the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, both the Central and the State Governments are appropriate Governments to enforce the provisions of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, and the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, including the provisions relating to non- payment of wages/minimum wages, in their respective jurisdictions. In the Central sphere the enforcement is done through the Inspecting Officers of the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) commonly designated as Central Industrial Relations Machinery (CIRM) and the compliance in the State Sphere is ensured through the State Enforcement Machinery. The designated inspecting officers conduct regular inspections and in the event of detection of any case of non- payment or underpayment of wages/minimum wages, they direct the employers to make payment of the shortfall of wages. In case of non- compliance, penal provisions prescribed under sections 17A and 20 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 and section 22 of the Minimum Wages Act are taken recourse to. The details in regard to enforcement of the minimum wages in the Scheduled employments in the Central Sphere are annexed. Details of enforcement of the provisions of the minimum wages in the State sphere are not centrally maintained.

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Annexure

Details of Inspections, Prosecutions and Convictions done under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948

Particulars	No. of Inspections Conducted	No. of Irregularities detected	No. Irregularities Rectified	No. of Prosecutions Launched	No. of Convictions
1	2	3	4	5	6
2019-20	7690	59950	23397	1609	412
2020-21	2114	13949	7566	501	174
2021-22	5022	35983	8726	492	167

Claim cases under Minimum Wages Act, 1948

Year	CLAIMS FILED UNDER MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948
Year	FILED	DECIDED	AWARDED	No. of WORKERS BENEFITED
1	2	3	4	5
2019-20	3470	754	Rs. 217981002/-	5297
2020-21	3763	1334	Rs. 270202177/-	7631
2021-22	5297	2102	Rs. 177722490/-	7487

Details of Inspections, Prosecutions and Convictions done under the Payment of Wages Act, 1936

Particulars	No. of Inspections Conducted	No. of Irregularities detected	No. Irregularities Rectified	No. of Prosecutions Launched	No. of Convictions
1	2	3	4	5	6
2019-20	2629	16004	9622	317	57
2020-21	928	5003	4209	145	34
2021-22	2140	12325	3857	423	39

Claim cases under Payment of Wages Act, 1936

Year	CLAIMS FILED UNDER Payment of WAGES ACT, 1936
Year	FILED	DECIDED	AWARDED	No. of WORKERS BENEFITED
1	2	3	4	5
2019-20	319	187	Rs. 12192780/-	278
2020-21	336	204	Rs. 166136127/-	2778
2021-22	811	400	Rs. 298027109/-	5277