look news india
The central government is preparing to end the system of minimum wage in the country. Instead, there is a plan to implement the living wage system in the country from next year. Media reports have quoted sources as saying that technical assistance has been sought from the International Labor Organization (ILO) to prepare the outline of the system. Living wage is the minimum wage that allows an employee to meet his basic needs. This includes housing, food, health care, education and clothing. The ILO had approved it earlier this month. The government claims that this will be more than the minimum wage.
We could move beyond minimum wage within a year, a senior government official told ET. The amendments related to minimum wage were approved in the 350th meeting of the Governing Body of ILO held in Geneva on 14 March. There are more than 50 crore workers in India. Of which 90 percent are in the unorganized sector. They get a minimum salary of Rs 176 or more per day. It depends on which state you live in. However, there has been no revision in the minimum wage at the national level since 2017. It is not mandatory for states and so some states pay even less. The Wage Code passed in the year 2019 has not been implemented yet. It proposes a salary level that will be mandatory for all states.
what will be the benefit
India is a founding member of ILO. And from 2022 the country is a member of its governing body. Officials said the government is working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2020. There is also speculation that replacing the minimum wage with a living wage could boost India's efforts to lift millions of people out of poverty. The official said that we have sought help from ILO for capacity building, systematic collection of data and evidence for positive economic outcomes from the implementation of Living Age.
