Opposition flags non-revision of minimum wages since 2014

The Centre this week evaded a direct reply on whether minimum wages for agricultural workers in several states have not been revised since 2014–15. The question was raised by the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress.

Responding in the Upper House, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje said that the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 applied to workers in scheduled employments, including agriculture, under the respective jurisdictions of the Centre and the states.

She said the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 had been subsumed under the Code on Wages, 2019, which came into effect on November 21, 2025, as part of the four new labour codes.

The Code on Wages, 2019 was passed by Parliament on August 8, 2019. It consolidates and simplifies four major labour laws — the Payment of Wages Act, 1936; the Minimum Wages Act, 1948; the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965; and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.

The legislation expands the statutory right to minimum wages to all employees, covering both organised and unorganised sectors, while ensuring fair pay and prohibiting gender-based discrimination.

“The Code of Wages, 2019 empowers both the central and state governments to fix, review and revise the minimum rates of wages for the establishments falling within their respective jurisdiction,” Karandlaje said.

The minister also informed the House that reports under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 up to the year 2022 have been published, while the report for 2023 is under finalisation.