Factum of Minimum Wages in IndiaCategory: Social Issues
Article added by: sachin jain
Factum of Minimum Wages
Sachin Kumar Jain
In Madhya Pradesh, the number of marginal workers is 66 lakhs and that of small farmers is 3.7 million. Thus, the labour work is an important source of livelihood for a total of 9.7 million lakhs families who are dependent upon such physical work. Presently, about 94% of workers are earning their livelihood while working in unorganized sector where they are subjected to widespread exploitation. However, with the implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, hopes are raised for meeting their basic needs by earning minimum wages at least. In the State, rates of minimum wages for agricultural workers are fixed based on Consumer Price Index and accordingly the present minimum basic wages are fixed at Rs. 411.00 ($ 8.93) per month and Rs. 47.67 ($1.03) per day. By combining both these heads, the unskilled agriculture work has been determined in the State. Here the question arises whether these rates of minimum wages are sufficient enough to meet even the basic needs for survival of a human being, particularly in the face of prevailing price indicators. Therefore, the minimum wages should at least be revised to Rs. 1841.00 per month or Rs. 61.37 per day and now it is Rs. 67.00 per day. The wages have been increased by 3 percent per year, however the inflation rate in India has been registered more then 6 percent in last 2 years.
There are no effective alternatives to employment in Majhera village of Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh. In the face of heavy losses due to illegal mining, the stone mines in the area were closed down. Now with the implementation of Employment Guarantee Scheme, the hopes for an alternative employment have been raised. They demanded for 25 days of work, which was also provided to them but they stopped working just after two days for the only reason that the amount of minimum wages being earned by them after putting hard physical work, was not sufficient enough either to feed their families or to meet other basic needs like health, education, clothing etc. This is true not only for Majhera village but also for every such village where people are attempting to meet their basic needs by working for minimum wages.
The need of the hour is not only to increase the basic rates of minimum wages but the basic approach towards the whole issue also needs to be changed. The prevailing system of minimum wages, instead of abolishing the poverty, is in fact increasing it. The rates of minimum wages so fixed in Madhya Pradesh, is not enough even for two times meal in a day, leave aside the needs of health, education and shelter.
The rates of wages are fixed as per the Schedule of Rates (SoR) for respective works. In Madhya Pradesh, digging of 100 cubic feet on leveled surface is the minimum target, while on hard surface or murrum, it is 64 cubic feet and minimum wages shall be paid only upon completing this targeted measurement. However, while linking SoR with minimum wages, it has been lost sight of that SoRs are applied where the construction work, under various Government Schemes, is being got executed through the Contractors, where the prime objective was only to get the work completed and not to ensure employment or to provide any relief against poverty to the workers so engaged by the respective contractors.
However, under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), the objectives of public welfare and rights of workers are of utmost importance – rather backbone of the Act. As such, it has to be ensured whether it would be physically possible for the already weak workers to meet the strict standards and measurements for labour work, so fixed by the Government to determine the amount of wages payable to them. The situation has to be viewed in the background of the fact that many of Dalits and Tribals are physically so weak that it is just not possible for them to earn their minimum wages by achieving the targets so fixed for labour work. On the other hand, the Government Officials, in their sheer attempt to show the targeted progress of work, apply the fixed standards with absolute strictness, with the result that workers are deprived of their full day’s wages. Consequently, their prevailing state of their mal-nutrition, hunger and poverty remains unchanged without any improvement whatsoever.
The irony is that while fixing the SoR, the Government has completely overlooked the varying geographical and regional conditions. To give an example, for digging the soft soil of Hoshangabad and hard & semi-hard surface of Badwani districts, similar labour standards are fixed and applied in both places, irrespective of the fact that geographical conditions of both places are just contrary to each other. When those of the workers who are working on hard surfaces are not able to provide similar output, as compared to their counterparts engaged on land with soft soil surface, the formers are branded as lazy ones, conveniently ignoring the divergent conditions in which they are operating. If the task-based minimum wages are to be determined even under the Employment Guarantee Act, then the women workers shall obviously be deprived of their right of equal wages as compared to their male counterparts. A clear-cut distinction is being made with women workers and accordingly they are being paid lesser wages, thus also violating their fundamental right of `Equality’. As such, there is absolute need to start the process of determining the minimum wages, based on respective geographical conditions, community involved and principles of social welfare. Not only this, the Minimum Wages has also to be linked and defined as the fundamental right so that the respective rates may be revised in such a manner at least to meet the basic needs of workers.
Here it is also important to observe that the process involved for determining the wages is comparatively more demanding on the quantum of labour input, while a section of labour work force also includes disabled and facing malnutrition, under nutrition and food insecurity. Thus, making task-based payment of wages for such people is nothing but a sheer source to exploit them. Thus, the need of the hour is to break the nexus between technologies and mechanization and for this the first and foremost task is to evolve a process for determining the rates of wages in such a manner so that human angle is not lost sight of. The more we link the wages with productivity, the more it will establish the preferential need for mechanization and thus it will be proved that since workers are not able to contribute enough in the process of development, therefore, the Government, just to complete the formality of meeting its ‘social’ obligations, instead of providing them with any physical labour work, they may be paid compensation in lieu of wages. Such a situation will, of course, inherit serious repercussions. As such, it is of utmost importance to analyze the Right to Employment Act in the background of poverty and prevailing social conditions.
The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 is based on Article 43 of the Constitution of India which provides for fixing such minimum wages for the workers as are sufficient for them to lead a respectable social life. The Minimum Wages Act, nowhere and in no manner advocates for fixing such minimum wages, which are not sufficient even to meet the food requirement for worker and his family members. On the contrary, it favours for such minimum wages, which are at least sufficient to meet the needs for 2700 calories of food per person, 72 yards of cloth for the family and shelter needs. In addition, for home lighting and cooking fuel an amount equivalent to 20% of minimum wages is also fixed as part of wages. Thereafter, the Hon’ble Supreme Court, in one of its historical judgments in 1991, directed that for meeting the educational needs of children, health facilities and other social requirement, an amount equivalent to 25% of minimum wages is to be added as part of wages. However, the State Government constantly ignored the constitutional and legal provisions as well as directions of Hon’ble Supreme Court in this behalf. Presently, the fixed minimum wages in Madhya Pradesh is Rs. 61.37 per day and accordingly, attempts are being made to provide 100 days work to 42 lakh rural families under the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Thus, in an average family of 5 members, the share of each comes to Rs. 12.12 per day i.e. Rs. 6.06 for one time meal. On the other hand, for meeting the requirement of Minimum Wages Act for 2700 calories of food per person, it requires an expenditure of Rs. 20 per day per person and for meeting the clothing, education and health needs, an additional amount of Rs. 12/- per day per person is to be added thereon. Clearly, as against required minimum wages of Rs. 160/- per day (20 + 12 = 32 x 5), the Government is paying only Rs. 61.37 per day. Also there are contradictions as far as line of poverty is concerned. On the one hand, as per Government’s own definition, a family spending less than Rs. 1800 per month is considered to be on the verge of hunger, while on the other hand, it is paying only Rs. 500/- per month to workers for their survival. Although the Central Government warmly welcomes the concept of globalization and open market and talks of international standards, but conveniently looks at the other side when it comes to comparing the international standards of poverty. It never accepts and implements such standards aimed to protect the poor. As against the international standard of expenditure at $ 2 per person per day (equivalent to Rs. 90) the Planning Commission of India considers an expenditure of Rs. 12 to 14/- per day per person as sufficient amount to lead a respectable life. This approach has to be changed. The poverty line in India is in fact a hunger line. It is rather unfortunate but true that even the people’s representatives in Parliament are not aware of stark reality of minimum wages. Recently, even the Standing Committee of Parliament expressed its shock and surprise over the prevailing rates of minimum wages.
Presently, there are 66.90 lakhs of deprived and marginal workers, out of which 45.52 lakhs (68%) are women who suffer maximum exploitation in terms of minimum wages. It has to be clearly understood by the policy makers that for proper development of physical capacity and mental capability of workers, they have to be paid better wages and in the absence of such development their productivity cannot be enhanced.
By introducing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Government has initiated a historic step, but to achieve its real objective, it has also to come forward for defining the minimum wages afresh. On its part, when the Central Government is bearing the burden of additional wages, then it becomes rather incumbent upon the State Government also to initiate political steps for empowering its workers with their respective rights which in no way put any additional burden on the State Government.
The workers of organized sector are obviously in a better position as compared to those working in unorganized sector, simply because they fight for their rights in an united manner. Thus, unless the workers of unorganized sector unite themselves and raise a concerted voice, then even the Rural Employment Guarantee Act shall not be able to provide any protection to them. In this era of globalization, in the absence of any united pressure on the issues of public importance, no steps to solve them shall be considered and initiated by any of the four pillars of democratic institution. Therefore, the need of united public struggle has to be accepted as a reality in this era.
E-7/21, Ashoka Society, Arera Colony, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
sachinwrites@gmail.com
Posted By: sachin jain
Contact: e-mail
| About the Author: |
| Sachin Kumar Jain is a development journalist working in Madhya Pradesh, India for last 10 years. HE has written extensively on Poverty, Hunger, Malnutrition, maternal health and Livelihood. |
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