MINIMUM WAGES ACT,1948

21. Single application in respect of a number of employees—
(1) Subject to such rules as may be prescribed, a single application may be presented
under section 20 on behalf or in respect of any number of employees employed in the
scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed,
and in such cases the maximum compensation which may be awarded under subsection
(3) of section 20 shall not exceed ten times the aggregate amount of such excess
or ten rupees per head, as the case may be.
(2) The authority may deal with any number of separate pending applications presented
under section 20 in respect of employees in the scheduled employments in respect of
which minimum rates of wages have been fixed as a single application presented
under sub-section (1) of this section and the provisions of that sub-section shall apply
accordingly.
22. Penalties for certain offences any employer who—
(a) pays to any employee less than the minimum rates of wages fixed for that employee’s
class of work, or less than the amount due to him under the provisions of this Act, or
(b) contravenes any rule or order made under section 13; shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may
extend to five hundred rupees, or with both : Provided that in imposing any fine for
an offence under this section the court shall take into consideration the amount of any
compensation already awarded against the accused in any proceedings taken under
section 20.
22A.General provision for punishment of other offences—
Any employer who contravenes any provision of this Act or of any rule or order made
thereunder shall, if no other penalty is provided for, such contravention by this Act, be
punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.
22B. Cognizance of offences—
(1) No court shall take cognizance of a complaint against any person for an offence—
(a) under clause (a) of section 22 unless an application in respect of the facts
constituting such offence has been presented under section 20 and has been
granted wholly or in part and the appropriate government or an officer
authorised by it is this behalf has sanctioned the making of the complaint;
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(b) under clause (b) of section 22 or under section 22A except on a complaint made
by or with the sanction of an Inspector.
(2) No court shall take cognizance of an offence—
(a) under clause (a) or clause (b) of section 22 unless complaint thereof is made within
one month of the grant of sanction under this section;
(b) under section 22A unless complaint thereof is made within six months of the date on
which the offence is alleged to have been committed.
22C.Offences by companies—
(1) If the person committing any offence under this Act is a company, every person who,
at the time the offence was committed, was in charge of, and was responsible to the
company for the conduct of the business of the company as well as the company shall
be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and
punished accordingly :
Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable
to any punishment provided in this Act if he proves that the offence was committed
without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission
of such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) where any offence under this
Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been
committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the
part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director,
manager, secretary or other officer of the company shall also be deemed to be guilty of
that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Explanation : For the purposes of this section—
(a) “company” means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of
individuals, and
(b) “director” in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm.
22D.Payment of undisbursed amounts due to employees—
All amounts payable by an employer to an employee as the amount of minimum wages of the
employee under this Act or otherwise due to the employee under this Act or any rule or order
made thereunder shall if such amounts could not or cannot be paid to the employee on account
of his death before payment or on account of his whereabouts not being known be deposited
with the prescribed authority who shall deal with the money so deposited in such manner as
may be prescribed.
22E. Protection against attachment of assets of employer with government—
Any amount deposited with the appropriate Government by an employer to secure the due
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performance of a contract with that Government and any other amount due to such employer
from that Government in respect of such contract shall not be liable to attachment under any
decree or order of any Court in respect of any debt or liability incurred by the employer other
than any debt or liability incurred by the employer towards any employee employed in
connection with the contract aforesaid.
22F. Application of Payment of Wages Act 1936 to scheduled employments—
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Payment of Wages Act 1936 (4 of 1936)
the appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette direct that
subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), all or any of the provisions of the said Act
shall with such modifications, if any, as may be specified in the notification apply to
wages payable to employees in such scheduled employments as may be specified in
the notification.
(2) Where all or any of the provisions of the said Act are applied to wages payable to
employees in any scheduled employment under sub-section (1), the Inspector
appointed under this Act shall be deemed to be the Inspector for the purpose of
enforcement of the provisions so applied within the local limits of his jurisdiction.
23. Exemption of employer from liability in certain cases—
Where an employer is charged with an offence against this Act, he shall be entitled upon
complaint duly made by him to have any other person whom he charges as the actual offender
brought before the court at the time appointed for hearing the charge; and if after the commission
of the offence has been proved the employer proves to the satisfaction of the court—
(a) That he has used due deligence to enforce the execution of this Act and
(b) That the said other person committed the offence in question without his knowledge
consent or connivance.
That other person shall be convicted of the offence and shall be liable to the like punishment as
if he were the employer and the employer shall be discharged :
Provided that in seeking to prove as aforesaid the employer may be examined on oath and the
evidence of the employer or his witness if any shall be subject to cross-examination by or on
behalf of the person whom the employer charges as the actual offender and by the prosecution.
24. Bar of suits—
No court shall entertain any suit for the recovery of wages in so far as the sum so claimed—
(a) orms the subject of an application under section 20 which has been presented by or on
behalf of the plaintiff, or
(b) Has formed the subject of a direction under that section in favour of the plaintiff, or
(c) Has been adjudged in any proceeding under that section not to be due to the plaintiff,
or
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(d) Could have been recovered by an application under that section.
25. Contracting out—
Any contract or agreement, whether made before or after the commencement of this Act,
whereby an employee either relinquishes or reduces his right to a minimum rate of wages or
any privilege or concession accruing to him under this Act shall be null and void in so far as it
purports to reduce the minimum rate of wages fixed under this Act.
26. Exemption and exceptions—
(1) The appropriate Government may subject to such conditions if any as it may think fit
to impose direct that the provisions of this Act shall not apply in relation to the wages
payable to disabled employees.
(2) The appropriate Government if for special reasons it thinks so fit, by notification in
the Official Gazette, direct that subject to such conditions and for such period as it
may specify the provisions of this Act or any of them shall not apply to all or any class
of employees employed in any scheduled employment or to any locality where there
is carried on a scheduled employment.
(2A) The appropriate Government may if it is of opinion that having regard to the terms
and conditions of service applicable to any class of employees in a scheduled
employment generally or in a scheduled employment in a local area or to any
establishment or a part of any establishment in a scheduled employment it is not
necessary to fix minimum wages in respect of such employees of that class or in respect
of employees in such establishment or such part of any establishment as are in receipt
of wages exceeding such limit as may be prescribed in this behalf direct, by notification
in the Official Gazette, and subject to such conditions, if any, as it may think fit to
impose that the provisions of this Act or any of them shall not apply in relation to
such employees.
(3) Nothing in this Act shall apply to the wages payable by an employer to a member of
his family who is living with him and is dependent on him.
Explanation : In this sub-section a member of the employer’s family shall be deemed to include
his or her spouse or child or parent or brother or sister.
27. Power of State Government to add to Schedule—
The appropriate Government after giving by notification in the Official Gazette not less than
three months’ notice of its intention so to do may by like notification add to either Part of the
Schedule any employment in respect of which it is of opinion that minimum rates of wages
should be fixed under this Act and thereupon the Schedule shall in its application to the State
be deemed to be amended accordingly.
28. Power of Central Government to give directions –
The Central Government may give directions to a State Government as to the carrying into
execution of this Act in the State.
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29. Power of Central Government to make rules—
The Central Government may, subject to the condition of previous publication, by notification
in the Official Gazette, make rules prescribing the term of office of the members, the procedure
to be followed in the conduct of business, the method of voting the manner of filling up casual
vacancies in membership and the quorum necessary for the transaction of business of the Central
Advisory Board.
30. Power of appropriate Government to make rules—
(1) The appropriate Government may subject to the condition of previous publication, by
notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this
Act.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power such rules may -
(a) Prescribe the term of office of the members the procedure to be followed in the conduct
of business the method of voting the manner of filling up casual vacancies in
membership and the quorum necessary for the transaction of business of the
committees sub-committees and the Advisory Board;
(b) Prescribe the method of summoning witnesses production of documents relevant to
the subject-matter of the enquiry before the committees, sub-committees and the
Advisory Board;
(c) prescribe the mode of computation of the cash value of wages in kind and of concessions
in respect of supplies of essential commodities at concession rates;
(d) Prescribe the time and conditions of payment of and the deductions permissible from
wages;
(e) Provide for giving adequate publicity to the minimum rates of wages fixed under this
Act;
(f) provide for a day of rest in every period of seven days and for the particulars to be
entered in such registers and records;
(g) Prescribe the number of hours of work which shall constitute a normal working day;
(h) Prescribe the cases and circumstance in which an employee employed for a period of
less than the requisite number of hours constituting a normal working day shall not
be entitled to receive wages for a full normal working day;
(i) Prescribe the form of registers and records to be maintained and the particulars to be
entered in such registers and records;
(j) Provide for the issue of wage book and wage slips and prescribe the manner of making
and authenticating entries in wage books and wage slips;
(k) Prescribe the powers of Inspectors for purposes of this Act;
(l) Regulate the scale of costs that may be allowed in proceedings under section 20 and
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(m) Prescribe the amount of court-fees payable in respect of proceedings under section 20;
and
(n) Provide for any other matter which is to be or may be prescribed.
30A.Rules made by Central Government to be laid before Parliament—
Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act shall be laid as soon as may be
after it is made before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty
days which may be comprised in one session or two successive sessions and if before the
expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session immediately following both Houses
agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be
made the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect as the
case may be so however that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to
the validity of anything previously done under that rule.
31. Validation of fixation of certain minimum rates of wages—
Where during the period—
(a) Commencing on the 1st day of April 1952 and ending with the date of the
commencement of the Minimum Wages (Amendment) Act 1954 (26 of 1954); or
(b) Commencing on the 31st day of December 1954 and ending with the date of the
commencement of the Minimum Wages (Amendment) Act 1957 (30 of 1957); or
(c) Commencing on the 31st day of December 1959 and ending with the date of the
commencement of the Minimum Wages (Amendment) Act 1961 (31 of 1961) minimum
rate of wages have been fixed by an appropriate government as being payable to
employees employed in any employment specified in the Schedule in the belief or
purported belief that such rates were being fixed under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of
section 3 as in force immediately before the commencement of the Minimum Wages
(Amendment) Act 1954 (26 of 1954) or the Minimum Wages (Amendment) Act 1957
(30 of 1957) or the Minimum (Amendment) Act 1961 (31 of 1961) as the case may be
such rates shall be deemed to have been fixed in accordance with law and shall not be
called in question in any court on the ground merely that the relevant date specified
for the purpose in that clause had expired at the time the rates were fixed :
Provided that nothing contained in this section shall extend or be construed to extend
to affect any person with any punishment or penalty whatsoever by reason of the
payment by him by way of wages to any of his employees during any period specified
in this section of an amount which is less than the minimum rates of wages referred to
in this section or by reason of non-compliance during the period aforesaid with any
order or the rule issued under section 13.