JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary on Tuesday said the Union Territory revised minimum wages for scheduled employments in October 2022 and any further revision will be carried out once the Government of India notifies and implements the national floor wage under the code on wages.
Replying to a question raised by legislator Ali Mohammad Dar during the question hour in Legislative Assembly, the Deputy Chief Minister said that the Government of India, through the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the office of the Chief Labour Commissioner (central), has issued notifications revising the minimum wage structure under the minimum wages act, 1948.
He said the revisions are based on adjustments to the Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA), which is linked to the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW), and are aimed at addressing inflationary pressures and rising cost of living across different skill categories of workers.
Choudhary said that under the latest central notifications, effective from October 1, 2024, and updated subsequently, the minimum wage rates for workers in the unorganised sector and scheduled employments have been revised upward for all skill categories, including unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled workers.
He said the revised wages include both basic wage and VDA components as notified by the Government of India.
The Deputy Chief Minister further said that under the code on wages, which came into force across the country, including Jammu and Kashmir, from November 21, 2025, provisions have been made for a national floor minimum wage and strengthened mechanisms for periodic revision of wages based on socio-economic criteria.
He added that the Minimum Wages Act, has been subsumed under the Code on Wages, 2019. He told the House that the Jammu and Kashmir government had revised minimum wages for scheduled employments in October 12, 2022.
The appropriate government is empowered to issue notifications for revision of minimum wages in accordance of the Act, and the revision will remain operative till October 2027.
Choudhary said that as and when the Government of India notifies and implements the national floor wage under the Code on Wages, it will also be applicable to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Legislators Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami and Hasnain Masoodi raised supplementary questions on the issue. (PTI)