Why the Wage Code is inadequate

It contains numerous positive elements, such as introduction of a statutory national floor-level minimum wage for the first time in India, but it has missed an opportunity to do more

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government during its first stint (2014-19) took a bold decision to rationalise the numerous labour laws into four codes, of which the Code on Wages was one. The Wage Code, which replaces four laws — the Payment of Wages Act, 1936; the Minimum Wages Act, 1948; the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965; and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 — was first placed in Parliament in August 2017. It was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee, which submitted its report on December 18, 2018. The NDA returned to power with a massive electoral mandate in May