Minimum rates of wages were notified by the Government of Punjab vide notification dated 1st May, 2026. What stood out in the notification was, first, that minimum wages were fixed/revised under the Code on Wages, 2019 (“CoW”, hereinafter) and second, that what was notified was the “basic minimum rates of wages”. As per the notification itself, the minimum rates of wages notified therein are “basic rates of minimum wages” which are not permitted to be segregated into components in the form of allowances by the employer. Interestingly, neither the CoW nor any other statute permits the appropriate Governments to fix/revise minimum rates of wages such that they cannot be split into wage components other than the basic component.
As per Section 7 of the CoW, the appropriate Government can fix/revise minimum wages in three ways, first, as basic rates of wages and special allowance at a rate to be adjusted at such intervals in such manner as the appropriate Government may direct to accord as nearly as practicable with a variation in the cost...
