Legal Question in Employment Law in India

08.02.2013

Dear Sir / Madam,

(Hoodi / Mahadevapura, Bengaluru, Karnataka)

The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 defines employer as :

"employer" means any person who employs, whether directly or through another person, or whether on behalf of himself or any other person, one or more employees in any scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under this

Act, and includes, except in sub-section (3) of section 26,--

(i) in a factory where there is carried on any scheduled employment in respect of which

minimum rates of wages have been fixed under this Act, any person named under 1*[clause (f) of subsection (1) of section 7 of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948)], as manager of the factory;

(ii) in any scheduled employment under the control of any Government in India in respect of

which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under this Act, the person or authority appointed by such Government for the supervision and control of employees or where no person or authority is so appointed, the head of the department;

(iii) in any scheduled employment under any local authority in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under this Act, the person appointed by such authority for the

supervision and control of employees or where no person is so appointed, the chief executive

officer of the local authority;

(iv) in any other case where there is carried on any scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under this Act, any person responsible to the owner for the supervision and control of the employees or for the payment of wages.

Sub Section 3 of Section 26 specifies the exemptions -

The appropriate Government may, if it is of opinion that, having regard to the terms and conditions of service applicable to any class of employees in a scheduled employment generally or in a scheduled employment in a local area 1*[or to any establishment or a

part of any establishment in a scheduled employment], it is not necessary to fix minimum wages in respect of such employees of that class 1*[or in respect of employees in such establishment or such part of any establishment] as are in receipt of wages exceeding such limit as may be prescribed in this behalf, direct, by notification in the Official Gazette and subject to such conditions, if any, as it may think fit to impose, that the provisions of this Act or any of them shall not apply in relation to such employees.]

An NGO comes under the definition of employer as in (iv) above.

Regards,

FCA Prashant Chavan

Mumbai

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