Delhi govt to discuss HC verdict on minimum wage for workmen

New Delhi: The Delhi government has expressed disappointment over the High Court verdict quashing its notification for revision of minimum wages for workmen in scheduled employment, saying it is committed to ensure a life of dignity for workers in the national capital.

The Delhi High Court, in its verdict on Saturday, quashed the Delhi government notification revising the minimum wages for all classes of workmen in scheduled employment, saying it was a "hurried" decision taken without hearing the employers or employees who would be affected and was violative of the Constitution. 

"The Delhi government disagrees with the Delhi High Court verdict and views with extreme disappointment the erroneous conclusion arrived at by the court, after having heard the matter for almost a year-and-a-half, and after having kept the verdict reserved for many months," Delhi Labour Minister Gopal Rai said in a statement. 

The government is committed to ensure a life of dignity for workers earning their livelihood in the national capital and will take recourse to all remedies available to it for effectively enforcing minimum wages in all sectors, he said. 

Earlier, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said the government will decide its strategy after going through the court order. Rai said the government is studying the order and will arrive at a conclusion very soon on how to ensure the implementation of revised higher minimum wages for workers in all categories. 

"I have convened a meeting of the labour department on Monday to decide the future course of action, including the next legal remedy available to the government." 

It is "beyond any reasonable understanding" as to how a decision to recommend revised higher wages for workers, which was taken after at least seven meetings spanning over six months, could be termed as "hurried", he said. 

In its 218-page verdict, a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar also set aside a September 2016 notification by which a Minimum Wages Advisory Committee for all scheduled employments was set up, saying that its constitution was "completely flawed".