The Government of Odisha on February 11, 2026, issued the Draft Odisha Code on Wages Rules, 2026.
The rules outline the method for calculating and fixing minimum wages under the Code on Wages, 2019. Minimum wages are determined based on a standard working-class family consisting of three adult consumption units and considering factors such as daily nutritional requirements (2700 calories per unit), annual clothing needs, housing rent (10% of food and clothing costs), fuel and electricity (20%), and additional expenses like education, medical needs, recreation, and contingencies (25%). The daily wage rate is used to derive hourly and monthly wages, assuming an eight-hour workday and twenty-six working days per month.
The Government of Odisha must consider factors like geographical area, work experience, and skill level (unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, and highly skilled) when fixing minimum wages. A Technical Committee chaired by the Labour Commissioner is constituted to advise on skill categorization, hazardous or arduous work, and occupational classification, aligning with national skill frameworks. The committee may recommend updates to occupation categories used for wage determination.
The rules also provide provisions for working hours, weekly rest days, night shifts, wage periods, and payment conditions. Employees are generally entitled to one weekly rest day with wages, and if required to work on that day, they must receive overtime pay and a substituted rest day. The variable dearness allowance (VDA) linked to the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers is revised twice a year to adjust wages for inflation.
Additionally, the rules set procedures for wage deductions, recovery of advances, fines, and dispute resolution, with the Divisional Labour Commissioner acting as the authority in relevant matters. A State Advisory Board is also constituted with representatives from employers, employees, legislators, and experts to advise the state on minimum wage fixation and related labour issues.
The said draft notification 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 Special Secretary to Government, Labour & ESI Department, Kharavel Bhawan, Bhubaneswar-751001, E-mail: [email protected].
The objections and suggestions should be sent in the proforma containing column (1) specifying the name and address of the person/organization, column 2 (2) specifying the chapter and rule or sub-rule which is proposed to be modified, column (3) specifying the revised rule or sub-rule proposed to be substituted and column (4) reasons thereof;
Objections and suggestions, which may be received from any person with respect to the said draft notification before expiry of the period specified above, will be considered by the State Government.
[Notification No.998─LESI-LR-POL-0001/2026/LESI]
