More things change more they remain the same! UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has given her full support; two Congress chief ministers have written to the Prime Minister; a High Court (A.P) has ruled that the current wage rate violated the Minimum Wages Act 1948 --- but the rural workers are still getting the same old rate. When the MGNREGA workers lifted their 47-day dharna at Jaipur after the Centre and...
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States must pay minimum wages to workers under NREGA: Pronab Sen by Sreelatha Menon
Principal Advisor to Planning Commission Pronab Sen, who is heading a committee on wages, has said states are bound to pay prevailing minimum wages to workers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. His view contradicts the stand taken by the rural development ministry, which had said that NREGA exempts itself from other laws including the Minimum Wages Act and hence the Centre is not obliged to reimburse states according to...
More »Emerging economies have the worst records of underage workers
The Child Labour Index and map, produced by global risks advisory firm Maplecroft, rates 68 countries as ‘extreme risk’ with Bangladesh, China, India, Nigeria and Pakistan amongst those with the most widespread abuses of child workers.According to the ILO, there are 215 million children working throughout the world, many full-time. Of these, 115 million are exposed to hazardous forms of child labour. The index evaluates 196 countries on the prevalence,...
More »Costly choice for PMO on NREGA wage by Sreelatha Menon
The Prime Minister’s Office is expected to have a tough time making up its mind on the right wages for workers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). For, the labour and rural development ministries have taken different positions on the matter. A labour ministry note sent to the rural development ministry (MoRD) says the minimum wage notified in each state — often higher than the NREGA set one —...
More »Employment generation and Agriculture Sector should be given top importance: ILC recommends
The two day 43rd Session of the Indian Labour Conference (ILC), the apex national tripartite body that discusses key issues affecting labour and employment and provides policy perspectives and recommendations, concluded in New Delhi today. The Conference was inaugurated by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Tuesday 23rd November 2010. Senior level representatives of the three pillars of the tripartism, Trade Unions, Employers’ Associations and Government, participated in the deliberations...
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