Minimum wage conundrum

Govt will need to strike the right balance

The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment last week constituted an expert group to give technical inputs and recommendations on fixing a national minimum wage. The expert group, chaired by Ajit Mishra of the Institute of Economic Growth, has been constituted for a period of three years. This effectively means that the government is unlikely to fix the floor as mandated by the new wage code in the near term. According to the Code on Wages, 2019, the Central government is expected to fix a floor wage after taking into account the minimum living standards of workers. It can also