Respected Seniors,
I work in a central govt PSU Mine.
Last year, we had signed a MoU with the State Govt (where the PSU is situated) to establish and run an ITI. As per the terms and conditions of the MoU, all the expenditure was to be borne by us.
In the initial stage, due to delays by the State Govt, we had deployed 05 housekeeping and cleaning staff in the ITI through a contract. As the contract was issued by us and in line with other contracts issued by us, the contractor was paying Central Govt wages to the laborers.
Now, the concerned State Govt wishes to take over the total management of the ITI, including the deployment of staff, through their contractor. They have agreed to give priority to engaging the current housekeeping and cleaning staff through their contractor.
However, now the housekeeping and cleaning staff will receive State Govt minimum wages as per the terms and conditions of the contract issued by the State Govt. The state govt minimum wage is less by Rs. 22 per day.
Are there any legal issues involved in this? Can the staff go to the Labor Authority for a reduction of wages? Is there any rule of pay protection in this?
From India, Calcutta
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2I work in a central govt PSU Mine.
Last year, we had signed a MoU with the State Govt (where the PSU is situated) to establish and run an ITI. As per the terms and conditions of the MoU, all the expenditure was to be borne by us.
In the initial stage, due to delays by the State Govt, we had deployed 05 housekeeping and cleaning staff in the ITI through a contract. As the contract was issued by us and in line with other contracts issued by us, the contractor was paying Central Govt wages to the laborers.
Now, the concerned State Govt wishes to take over the total management of the ITI, including the deployment of staff, through their contractor. They have agreed to give priority to engaging the current housekeeping and cleaning staff through their contractor.
However, now the housekeeping and cleaning staff will receive State Govt minimum wages as per the terms and conditions of the contract issued by the State Govt. The state govt minimum wage is less by Rs. 22 per day.
Are there any legal issues involved in this? Can the staff go to the Labor Authority for a reduction of wages? Is there any rule of pay protection in this?
From India, Calcutta
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Dear Baishaliamit,
Contextually, yours seems to be a good tricky question. When the State Government takes over the entire management of the ITI as per the MOU, it becomes a unit of the State Govt despite all the expenditure being borne out by the PSU belonging to the Central Govt. In the absence of information relating to the type/nature/main activity of the Central PSU, whether the PSU-funded ITI is exclusively for the wards of the employees of the PSU or open to all, etc., the search for the right answer becomes even more difficult as the fixation of minimum wages undertaken by the appropriate governments is only scheduled employment-wise and not industry-wise or establishment-wise.
The same term "appropriate government," though used in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, The Minimum Wages Act, 1948, and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, has different meanings with reference to the object of the Acts. So, the minimum wages fixed by the Central Govt in respect of the employment of housekeeping and cleaning in a PSU to which it is the app.govt by virtue of the former's classification under the ID Act cannot be applied to the contract labour engaged in the same employment in a different type of establishment managed by the State Govt. Therefore, my personal view is that only the minimum rates of wages fixed by the State Govt would be applicable to the contract labour engaged in such operations though it is lesser than the central rates of MW. Since it is altogether a different contract, the affected contract labour cannot have any judicial remedy in this regard. I would like to solicit the views of our learned members.
From India, Salem
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Contextually, yours seems to be a good tricky question. When the State Government takes over the entire management of the ITI as per the MOU, it becomes a unit of the State Govt despite all the expenditure being borne out by the PSU belonging to the Central Govt. In the absence of information relating to the type/nature/main activity of the Central PSU, whether the PSU-funded ITI is exclusively for the wards of the employees of the PSU or open to all, etc., the search for the right answer becomes even more difficult as the fixation of minimum wages undertaken by the appropriate governments is only scheduled employment-wise and not industry-wise or establishment-wise.
The same term "appropriate government," though used in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, The Minimum Wages Act, 1948, and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, has different meanings with reference to the object of the Acts. So, the minimum wages fixed by the Central Govt in respect of the employment of housekeeping and cleaning in a PSU to which it is the app.govt by virtue of the former's classification under the ID Act cannot be applied to the contract labour engaged in the same employment in a different type of establishment managed by the State Govt. Therefore, my personal view is that only the minimum rates of wages fixed by the State Govt would be applicable to the contract labour engaged in such operations though it is lesser than the central rates of MW. Since it is altogether a different contract, the affected contract labour cannot have any judicial remedy in this regard. I would like to solicit the views of our learned members.
From India, Salem
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