Minimum Wages Legislation for Agricultural Labour: A Review

Type Working Paper - Economic and Political Weekly
Title Minimum Wages Legislation for Agricultural Labour: A Review
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 1975
Page numbers A76-A88
URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/4537413
Abstract
The National Commission on Labour recommended a number of steps to bring about improvements in the procedures of fixation, revision and implementation of minimum wages for agricultural labour. Among the steps recommended by the Commission are: (1) A periodic revision of minimum wages through constitution of tri-partite committees for fixation or revision of minimum wages; (2) Gradual extension of operation of Minimum Wages Acts, beginning with low wage pocket areas to others; (3) Wide publicity for wages fixed under the Acts; (4) Strengthening of field staff engaged in enforcement of minimum wages and involving the village panchayats in the task of implementation, and (5) Provision of such facilities by the state government as are required to encourage trade unions of agricultural labour. Though periodic revisions of minimum wages for agricultural workers are effected, no systematic examination of either the procedures or the modes of implementation is made. This paper is an attempt to fill this lacuna. Its objectives are: (1) to examine the minimum wages currently in force in different states with reference to the market wage rates; (2) to analyse the procedure of fixation of minimum wages, identify the deficiencies and suggest changes; and (3) to examine the existing administrative machinery set up for implementation of minimum wages.

Related studies

»