Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Noted jurists express dismay at Prime Minister’s NREGA statement

Noted jurists express dismay at Prime Minister’s NREGA statement

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Feb 15, 2011   modified Modified on Feb 15, 2011
Say there is no way the workers can be paid less than the minimum wages

Open Statement on Prime Minister’s Assertion that the NREGA Wage Rate is ‘Delinked’ from the Minimum Wages Act

We the undersigned are shocked at the Prime Minister’s statement in a letter to the Chairperson of the National Advisory Council that ‘statutorily the wage rate under NREGA is delinked and independent of the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act’ to justify the payment of less than minimum wage on MGNREGA works in several states across the country.

This assertion is misguided and against the mandate of the Constitution and citizens’ fundamental rights.

Payment of the minimum wage is sacrosanct: its violation is a violation of the citizen’s fundamental rights, and tantamount to “forced labour”.

This has been upheld by the Supreme Court, which in Sanjit Roy v/s State of Rajasthan (1983) even declared the Exemption from Minimum Wages Act unconstitutional if it excluded the applicability of the Minimum Wages Act 1948, to a workman employed in famine relief work.

Moreover, when the Government as an employer asserts its right to not pay minimum wages, it loses its moral authority to enforce the Minimum Wages Act, and gives a message to all exploitative industry, big agriculturists, and employers that minimum wages can be violated with impunity.

By exempting itself from the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act in the MGNREGA , the government seriously compromises the rights of MGNREGA workers, and undermines the Minimum Wages Act itself.

Without the protection of the Minimum Wages Act, the unorganised sector worker will be subject to blatant exploitation, subhuman conditions of work, including situations of bondage.

It is notable that the Bonded Labour Act defines the payment of less than the minimum wage as an important condition of bondage.

The Prime Minister has based this assertion of MGNREGA wage being distinct from the provisions of minimum wages on the non-obstante clause in Section 6(1) of the NREGA, which states that “not withstanding the Minimum Wages Act…” in effect saying that the State can override citizens’ fundamental rights merely through surreptitiously inserted legislative provisions that can be selectively exercised when it suits the government.

It should be obvious that the constitutionality of Section 6(1) itself is in question when used to violate minimum wages as opposed to adequate justification for the same.

The Prime Minister’s communication is especially objectionable since the Government of India is currently facing contempt proceedings in the Andhra High Court over its continued refusal to pay prevailing state minimum wage in MGNREGA.

This statement thus is clear evidence too of executive contempt for due process of law and the judiciary.

We strongly urge the government to immediately ensure the payment of minimum wages in MGNREGA to uphold the fundamental rights of the poorest workers of our country.

The undersigned:
1. Justice P.N. Bhagwati, Former Chief Justice of India
2. Justice J. S. Verma, Former Chief Justice of India
3. Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India
4. Justice O. Chinnappa Reddy, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India
5. Justice P.B. Sawant, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India
6. Justice N. Santosh Hegde, Lokayukta, Karnataka & Former Judge, Supreme Court of India
7. Justice Rajinder Sachar, Former Chief Justice, Delhi High Court
8. Justice P.K. Mishra, Former Chief Justice, Patna High Court
9. Justice Bilal Nazki, Former Chief Justice, Orissa High Court
10. Justice A.P. Shah, Former Chief Justice, Delhi High Court
11. Justice Hosbet Suresh, Former Judge, Mumbai High Court
12. Justice V.S. Dave, Former Judge, Rajasthan High Court
13. Prof. Upendra Baxi, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Delhi
14. Dr. Mohan Gopal, Former Director, National Law School of India, Bengaluru
15. Fali Nariman, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
16. Prashant Bhushan, Advocate, Supreme Court of India
17. Kamini Jaiswal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India
18. Vrinda Grover, Advocate, Delhi High Court

Tehelka, 15 February, 2011, http://www.tehelka.com/story_main48.asp?filename=Ws150211NREGA.asp


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close