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NEW DELHI: Government aims to replace the minimum wage with living wage by 2025, seeking technical support from the International Labour Organization (ILO), as per a report by ET.
Officials have approached ILO for support in capacity building, data collection, and demonstrating the positive economic impacts of living wages.
The concept of living wages, defined as the income essential for meeting basic needs like housing, food, healthcare, education, and clothing, has gained ILO’s endorsement.These wages will exceed the current minimum wage levels.
“We could go beyond minimum wages in a year,” a senior government official told ET.
The ILO approved this reform during its recent governing body meeting in Geneva. In India, with over 500 million workers, 90% are in the unorganized sector, earning a daily minimum wage of around `176 or more, varying by state.
However, the national wage floor, stagnant since 2017, lacks enforceability across states, leading to discrepancies in wage payments.
The Code on Wages, passed in 2019 but pending implementation, proposes a universal wage floor applicable to all states upon enforcement.
As a founding member of ILO since 1922, India is committed to fulfilling sustainable development goals by 2030. Shifting from minimum to living wages is viewed as a strategy to accelerate poverty alleviation efforts.
Labour secretary Sumita Dawra emphasized the importance of considering health, education, and standard of living as crucial factors in defining living wages for developing nations, aligning with India’s national poverty assessment using multidimensional indicators.
She further stressed the incorporation of economic, social, and demographic elements in the standard of living assessment for a comprehensive living wage definition.
Officials have approached ILO for support in capacity building, data collection, and demonstrating the positive economic impacts of living wages.
The concept of living wages, defined as the income essential for meeting basic needs like housing, food, healthcare, education, and clothing, has gained ILO’s endorsement.These wages will exceed the current minimum wage levels.
“We could go beyond minimum wages in a year,” a senior government official told ET.
The ILO approved this reform during its recent governing body meeting in Geneva. In India, with over 500 million workers, 90% are in the unorganized sector, earning a daily minimum wage of around `176 or more, varying by state.
However, the national wage floor, stagnant since 2017, lacks enforceability across states, leading to discrepancies in wage payments.
The Code on Wages, passed in 2019 but pending implementation, proposes a universal wage floor applicable to all states upon enforcement.
As a founding member of ILO since 1922, India is committed to fulfilling sustainable development goals by 2030. Shifting from minimum to living wages is viewed as a strategy to accelerate poverty alleviation efforts.
Labour secretary Sumita Dawra emphasized the importance of considering health, education, and standard of living as crucial factors in defining living wages for developing nations, aligning with India’s national poverty assessment using multidimensional indicators.
She further stressed the incorporation of economic, social, and demographic elements in the standard of living assessment for a comprehensive living wage definition.
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