The Labour Welfare And Skill Development Department, Tamil Nadu on April 11, 2022 has issued the Draft Code on Wages (Tamil Nadu) Rules, 2022 to supersede (i) The Tamil Nadu Payment of Wages Rules, 1937, (ii) The Tamil Nadu Payment of Wages (Unclaimed Amounts) Rules, 1949 and (iii) The Minimum Wages (Tamil Nadu) Rules, 1953, made by the Governor of Tamil Nadu in exercise of the powers conferred by the Payment of Wages Act 1936 (Central Act IV of 1936) and the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
The important provisions of the code are as followed:
• Manner of calculating minimum rate of wages
(1) For the purposes of sub-section (5) of section 6, the minimum rate of wages shall be fixed on ‘day’ basis keeping in view the following criteria, namely:-
(i) The standard working class family which includes a spouse and two children apart from the earning worker; an equivalent of three adult consumption units;
(ii) A net intake of 2700 calories per day per consumption unit;
(iii) 66 metres cloth per year per standard working class family;
(iv) Housing rent expenditure to constitute 10 per cent of food and clothing expenditure;
(v) Fuel, electricity and other miscellaneous items of expenditure to constitute 20 percent of the minimum wages; and
(vi) Expenditure for children’s education, medical requirement, recreation and expenditure on contingencies to constitute 25 percent of the minimum wages;
(2) When the rate of wages for a day is fixed, then, such amount shall be divided by eight for fixing the rate of wages for an hour and multiplied by twenty-six for fixing the rate of wages for a month and in such division and multiplication, the factors of one-half and more than one-half shall be rounded as the next figure and the factors less than one-half shall be ignored.
• Time Interval for revision of cost of living allowance.- Endeavour shall be made so that the cost of living allowance and the cash value of the concession in respect of essential commodities at concession rate shall be computed once before 1st April and then before 1st October, every year to revise the dearness allowance payable to the employees on the minimum wages:
Provided that where immediately before the issue of notification under section 8 fixing or revising the minimum rates of wages, cost of living allowance at the rate higher than the rate so fixed or revised where payable under this Code, or under any law or award or agreement for the time being in force, then notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, cost of living allowance at such higher rate, shall be payable to the employees.
• The extent and conditions for the purposes of sub-section (2) of section 13.- In case of employees-
(a) engaged in any emergency which could not have been foreseen or prevented;
(b) engaged in work of the nature of preparatory or complementary work which must necessarily be carried on outside the limits laid down for the general working in the employment concerned;
(c) whose employment is essentially intermittent;
(d) engaged in any work which for technical reasons has to be completed before the duty is over; and
(e) engaged in a work which could not be carried on except at times dependent on the irregular action of natural forces;
The provisions of rules 6, 7 and 8 shall apply subject to the conditions that –
(i) the spread over of the hours of work of the employee shall not exceed 14 hours in any day; and
(ii) the actual hours of work excluding the intervals of rest and the periods of inaction during which the employee may be on duty but is not called upon to display either physical activity or sustained attendance shall not exceed 9 hours in any day.
• Form of register to record fine and realisation under sub-section (8) of section 19.-(1) In any case, when the employer has obtained approval under sub-section (1) of section 19 to a list of acts and omissions in respect of which fines may be imposed, the employer shall maintain in a Register of fines in Form I, electronically or otherwise.
• Intimation of deduction.- (1) Where an employer makes any deduction in pursuance of the proviso to sub-section (2) of section 20, he shall make intimation electronically or otherwise of such deduction to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator having jurisdiction within 10 days from the date of such deduction explaining therein the reason of such deduction.
(2) The Inspector-cum-Facilitator shall, after receiving intimation under sub-rule (1), examine such intimation and if he finds that the explanation given therein is in contravention of any provision of the Code or the rules made thereunder, he shall initiate appropriate action under the Code against the employer.
• Manner of dealing with the undisbursed dues under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 44.- (1) The amount referred to in sub rule (1) of rule 41 (hereinafter in this rule referred to as the amount) deposited with the Joint Commissioner of Labour having jurisdiction shall remain with him and invested in the Government Securities or Deposited as a Fixed Deposit in a Nationalised or Scheduled Bank.
(2) The Joint Commissioner of Labour having jurisdiction will exhibit, as soon as maybe possible, a notice containing such particulars regarding the amount, as the Joint Commissioner of Labour considers sufficient, for information of all concerned, at least for fifteen days on the notice board and also publish such notice in any two local newspapers in the language commonly understood in the area in which undisbursed wages were earned and also upload such notice in the department website.
(3) Subject to the provision of sub-rule (4), the Joint Commissioner of Labour having jurisdiction shall release the amount to the nominee or to that person who has claimed such amount, as the case may be, in whose favour such Joint Commissioner of Labour has decided, after giving an opportunity of being heard, the amount to be paid.
(4) If the undisbursed amount remains unclaimed for a period of seven years, from the date of deposit with the Joint Commissioner of Labour, the same shall be treated as “the amount without claimant” and shall be transferred along with the interest amount accrued thereon to the Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare Fund either through Bank transfer or through a crossed Demand Draft obtained from any Scheduled Bank in the State, drawn in favour of the Secretary, Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare Board and thereafter it is deemed to have been treated as lapsed to the Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare Board.
• Form of register, etc.- (1) All fines and all realisations thereof referred to in sub-section (8) of section 19 shall be recorded in a register to be kept by the employer in Form–I electronically or otherwise and the authority referred to in said sub- section (8) shall be the Regional Joint Commissioner of Labour having jurisdiction.
(2) All deductions and all realisations referred to in sub-section (3) of section 21 shall be recorded in a register to be kept by the employer in Form- I electronically or otherwise.
(3) Every employer of an establishment to which the Code applies shall maintain register under sub-section (1) of section 50 in Form IV, electronically or otherwise.
• Timely Payment of Wages.- Where the employees are employed in an establishment through contractor, then, the company or firm or association or any other person who is the proprietor of the establishment shall pay to the contractor the amount payable to him or it, as the case may be, before the date of payment of wages so that payment of wages to the employees shall be made positively in accordance with the provisions of section 17.
Explanation.- For the purpose of this rule, the expression “firm” shall have the meaning as assigned to it in the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 (Central Act IX of 1932).
• Responsibility for payment of minimum bonus.- Where in an establishment, the employees are employed through contractor and the contractor fails to pay minimum bonus to them under section 26, then, the company or firm or association or other person as referred to in the proviso to section 43 shall, on the written information of such failure, given by the employees or any registered trade union or unions of which the employees are members and on confirming such failure, pay such minimum bonus to the employees.
• Annual Return.- The Annual Return shall be filed electronically by every employer of an establishment who are not covered under the Occupational Safety and Health Code, in Form VII.
*Disclaimer – Kindly find the detailed rules and Forms in the attached document.
All persons likely to be affected thereby and the notice is hereby given that the said draft rules will be taken into consideration after the expiry of a period of forty-five days from the date on which the copies of the Official Gazette in which this Notification is published are made available to the public.
Objections and suggestions, if any, may be addressed to the Secretary to the Government, Labour Welfare and Skill Development Department, Fort St. George, Chennai – 600009 through the Commissioner of Labour, DMS Campus, Chennai – 600 006 or by e-mail - [email protected]. The objection or suggestion should be sent in a proforma containing columns, (i) specifying the name and address of the persons and organisations (ii) specifying the rule or sub-rule which is proposed to be modified and (iii) specifying the revised rule or sub-rule proposed to be substituted and the reasons therefor;
The Objections and Suggestions, which may be received from any persons with respect to the said draft rules before expiry of the period specified above will be considered by the Government of Tamil Nadu.
[Notification No. SRO A-8(a)/2022]
