PIL urges Delhi HC to direct implementation of Minimum Wages Act provision on employee data

New Delhi: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking direction to the city government to formulate the necessary rules for implementation of the Minimum Wages Act's Section 31A, which mandates employers to upload employees' data on a designated website or web portal.

The petitioner, Social Jurist, cited the potential benefits of this provision for over 60 lakh workers employed across more than 20 lakh establishments in Delhi.

Its plea underscored that the core objective of Section 31A, which is to shield workers from exploitation, a purpose it contends is compromised by delays in framing rules for its execution.

Social Jurist has argued that despite the Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Act, 2017 receiving presidential assent on April 23, 2018, and being published in the Delhi Gazette on May 4, 2018, the essential rules for the implementation of Section 31A have not been framed.

The plea asserts that the respondent government has provided no justifiable reason for this delay, alleging that such inaction is not only legally questionable but also goes against the spirit of the Amendment Act aimed at protecting the rights of workers.