Minimum wages for private workers reach 15,000 per month

KATHMANDU: JULY 17 – The provision about new minimum wages for private-sector workers has come into effect from the current fiscal year. Earlier the government had decided to increase the minimum wages for private-sector workers beginning from Saun 1 (July 16) which marks the commencement of the new fiscal year. Now, private workers except those for tea estate workers are eligible to draw Rs 15,000 monthly.

Earlier, on the occasion of International Workers’ Day, the erstwhile Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had announced to increase the minimum wages of private-sector workers. With the implementation of the new provision, a worker shall get Rs 9,385 as basic scale salary and Rs 5,615 as dearness allowance: and it total Rs 15,000.

Likewise, the daily wage earners shall get Rs 361 as basic daily remuneration and Rs 216 as dearness allowance. It means, they shall each receive Rs 577 daily. Likewise, the workers working on an hourly basis shall get Rs 77: Rs 48 as basic payment and Rs 29 as dearness allowance: per hour.

Before this, the minimum wage for private-sector workers was Rs 13,450 monthly. As per the Labour Act, 2074 BS (2017), the minimum wages shall be revised every two years. The government had to revise it last year, but the government decided to implement it only from the current fiscal year citing nation’s economy was making its fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Labour, Employment, and Social Security has said that employers in addition to the fixed minimum wages, should ensure other facilities such as contribution-based social security, provident fund, and gratuity as demanded by the existing laws to their employees.

No employer is allowed to make a contract of employment promising the payment less than minimum wages determined by the government. A notice about the rise in the minimum wages has already been published in the national gazette.

Meanwhile, the government has fixed minimum wages for tea estate workers. As per the revised rule, tea leaves pickers shall get Rs 12,081 per month and it was Rs 11,561 before the fresh increment.