GUWAHATI, Dec 8 - In a significant move that has the potential to bring about a drastic change in the entire wage payment set-up of the tea industry, the Union Labour and Employment Ministry has issued a draft notification intending to make amendments in Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, with the proposal to enable the state governments specify the sectors that can make payment of wages either by cheques or by crediting the wages to bank accounts of workers, through gazette notifications.
This move has been undertaken by the Union Government following an ongoing controversy over the payment of wages through cheques or to the bank accounts of the tea estate (TE) workers. The move has sought to eliminate the provision that has made it mandatory for the employer to obtain a �written authorisation� from his worker for paying wages either by cheque or by crediting the wages in the worker�s bank account.
In the proposed amendment published in the draft notification (F No.S-31012/2/2016-WC), the Labour Ministry has stated that the Section 6 of the said legislation would now on state: �All wages shall be paid in current coin or currency notes or in both; provided that the appropriate government may, by notification in the official gazette, specify the industrial or other establishment, the employer of which shall pay to every person employed in such industrial or other establishment, the wages either by cheque or by crediting the wages in his bank account.�
The present provision of the above Section reads: �All wages shall be paid in current coin or currency notes or in both: provided that the employer may, after obtaining the written authorisation of the employed person, pay him the wages either by cheque or by crediting the wages in his bank account.�
It needs mention here that Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, envisages that all wages shall be paid in current coin or currency notes or in both. The provision enabling the employer to make payment of wages either by cheque or by crediting the wages to the worker�s bank account, after obtaining the �written authorisation� of the worker, was inserted in this Section in 1975.
The draft notification of the Labour Ministry has stated that payment of wages only through cheque or through transferring the wages to the bank accounts of the workers would reduce the complaints regarding non-payment or less payment of minimum wages, besides serving the objectives of digital and cashless economy.
