GET PAID FOR YOUR WORK

INTRODUCTION
Human beings need to earn for meeting their daily basic needs. They require money in order to
meet their daily chores. The money is earned through several works by the mankind. Works are
an important part of life. Without doing any work we cannot move our life for long years.
Workers are an important source of our society. Workers work for society as well as for
themselves. A worker is a person who undertakes to do or perform any work or service for
another party. The work done may be under a contract of employment or under any other
contract.
MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948
In India, several labour laws regulate and protect the workers of various sectors. The
Constitution of India which is the Supreme Law of the land clearly defines about living wages in
several Articles. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 enables the workers to get paid a minimum
wage in order to meet their daily chores. The Act extends to the whole of India. The Act gives
both the central and state government to fix minimum wages and working hours for the
workers. If anybody gets paid below the minimum wage rate fixed by both central government
and state government, then he can approach the Court of Law as payment of wage less than
fixation leads to forced labour. In N.M. Wadia Charitable Hospital V. State of Maharashtra
(1993), it was decided by the Court that fixing different minimum wages for different localities
is permitted under the Constitution and under labour laws, hence the question that any proviso
of the Minimum Wages Act is in any way against the proviso of Constitution is wrong.
However, both the state government and central government can impose reasonable
restrictions. The central government and state government can also impose no fixation rate for
certain sectors. In V. Unichoy V. State of Kerala(1962), the Court held that fixation of minimum
wage is for preservation of public order and if no minimum wage is fixed then it shall lead to
arbitrariness by the employers and that shall lead to clashes of interest between employer and
labour which shall cause friction in society. Nevertheless, the sole purpose of the Act is to fix
working hours and payment to employers in various sectors. The Act protects the employers
from exploitation, payment of less wage for their work, etc. The Act also further empowers the
workers to improve their standard of living.
CONCLUSION
A worker is a person who works for another person. He needs to get paid for the hours he sold
in order to meet his bread and butter. Failure to get paid leads to insufficient livelihood. Thus, it
is necessary for every worker to get paid a minimum wage fixed by both central and state
government.
 BY MUHAMMAD ASLAH
SCHOOL OF LEGAL STUDIES, KANNUR UNIVERSITY