Difference In Salary & Wages And Acts Related To The Same.

hello People,
I work for a group of companies which has dairy, agriculture and microfinance companies under one umbrella.
i wanted to know the diff between salary and wages. whether i need to follow the minimum wage Act for salaried employees also. How r the both trated under law.
Please suggest me Acts and Laws to be refered,
Thanks & Regards,
Ankita.

Dear Ankita ji,
To my knowledge, there is no differentiation in salary and wage in any of the labour law. In many labour laws, there is a definition of wages as wages shall have same meaning as defined in POW Act 1936. Salary is not defined except in POB Act 1965 as "salary or wages means all remuneration (other than in respect of OT work)....".
To answer to your question, you need to refer legal dictionary meaning of wages and salary which is as under:
Wages means payment for labour or services to worker especially remuneration on an hourly, daily or weekly basis or by the piece rate.
Salary means fixed compensation for services, paid to person on regular basis, often monthly for professional or office work as opposed to manual work.
Hope it is clear to you now the difference in wages and salary. You need to follow the minimum wage Act in both the cases of wages as well as salary.