Caught paying below minimum wages, PESCO directed to give arrears
Patiala, October 14
The Labour Department has caught the Punjab Ex-Servicemen Corporation (PESCO), a Punjab Government undertaking, paying their employees below the minimum wages fixed by the state government.
Though PESCO had all along been claiming they adhered to all rules and regulations pertaining to labour, the ground reality suggested otherwise.
The Labour Department has reiterated PESCO should adhere to the minimum wages that have already been fixed by the government.
PESCO is the institute that provides security personnel and other manpower to various government institutions in the state.
The Labour Department swung into action and started an inquiry into the anomaly after Chandigarh Tribune highlighted how PESCO employees weren’t getting the minimum wages.
In a letter to the PESCO, the department has invoked the records produced by the field officer of the PESCO that revealed the employees were being payed below the minimum wages.
They have now asked PESCO to ensure its employees get the minimum wages fixed as per their skills.
It is pertinent to mention that many PESCO employees — deployed at the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation in Patiala — were getting wages below the minimum limit.
Punjab State Power Corporation (PSPCL), the biggest client of the PESCO, had also recently written to the corporation to ensure minimum wages to its employees.
Jasvir Singh, Assistant Labour Commissioner (ALC) Patiala, said: “PESCO has been directed to pay as per the minimum wages fixed by the Labour Department. Besides, employees will also get arrears.”
Labour Dept acts
The Labour Department swung into action and started an inquiry into the anomaly after Chandigarh Tribune highlighted how PESCO employees weren’t getting the minimum wages.
