Re: Kerala Shops & Establishment Minimum Wages - W.E.F 01st April 2014

Hi Friends,

Can anyone send me the Minimum Wages of Kerala Shops & Establishments with effect from 01-04-2014?

Thank you,
Manoj

Dear Member,

The latest notification of minimum wages for shops and commercial establishments was published back in 2009. Since then, no minimum wages notification has been issued. Please specify the nature of the business your company is engaged in so that I can assist you further.

Please find attached the notification.

Thank you.

For security services, we have a separate minimum wage notification. Please find the attachment.

Madhu.T.K

Sir,

Please explain the CPI with Base 1998-99=100 and 2011-12=100, and what is the difference between these two.

Indices are revised periodically considering the increase in the prices of goods. With this, old indices will be replaced by the new versions of indices. Therefore, when new series of indices are published with 2011-12 = 100 as the base, the old series of 1998-99 = 100 will become outdated. That does not mean that we should also redo the Dearness Allowances based on the new series, but we can continue to use the same base of the index. There will be a linking factor attached to the index number, which can be used to get the index number of the previous base. For example, the linking factor for Ernakulam district is 2.03 under the new series, and the CPI is 139. Multiplying 139 by 2.03, we will get the CPI of Ernakulam district of Kerala under the immediate previous base, i.e., 1998-99 = 100, and that is 282. Similarly, the linking factor of 1998-99 for the previous index number (1970 series) is 9.92. An establishment following the old index can get the CPI in the old series by multiplying 9.92 by the 1998-99 series.

An existing establishment calculating the DA using the 1998-99 series can follow the same series until a new DA is fixed by merging a portion of the DA with the basic pay of employees. The Statistics department usually publishes CPIs based on two series, current as well as old series. If the old CPIs are not available, you can calculate it by multiplying the linking factor with the new CPI. The ultimate result will be the same.

Example:

DA is based on CPI under the 1998-99 series.

DA is Rs 24.90 per point above 130 points.

The establishment is situated in Ernakulam district.

As per the information available, the CPI for Ernakulam under 1998-99 is 282.

Therefore, the DA will be 282-130 X 24.90 = Rs 3785.

Suppose that the establishment follows the new series, i.e., 2011-12 = 100, then the DA will be as follows:

CPI under the new series: 139.

DA will be available for 9 points, that is the number of points above 130 points will get DA at the rate of Rs 24.90 and the amount of DA for the month will be Rs 224 {(139-130) X 24.90}.

Following the new series without adjusting the basic salary will lead to a heavy loss to workers. Therefore, before we switch over to the new series, we have to revise the Basic salary by increasing it by the amount of DA lost. Alternatively, we can continue to follow the old series of indices.

Madhu.T.K

Associations of apartment owners in multi-storied buildings have to engage workers for cleaning and other duties for the maintenance of the common area in the respective buildings. Are such workers covered by the Minimum Wages Act in Kerala? If so, under which category are they included? If not, which provisions would apply to them?

Association of Apartment Owners is not a commercial establishment. In the Management of Som Vihar Apartment Owners Housing Maintenance Society Ltd Vs Workmen (2001 LLR 599 (SC)), the Supreme Court held that when personal services are rendered to the members of the Society constituted for these members only, its activities cannot come under the purview of the Industrial Disputes Act. A similar view was expressed by the Karnataka High Court in Smt. Rachana Gopinath Vs The State of Karnataka (2016 LLR 864), in which it was categorically stated that such associations are not commercial establishments.

However, if the housekeeping services are outsourced to some third party, as is seen in the case of many apartments nowadays, they should be paid wages at the prescribed minimum rates. This is because, even though the association is receiving the services of these housekeepers as personal services, they belong to an establishment falling under the Shops and Commercial Establishments Act. As such, their services to the Apartment Association cannot be treated as personal service. Therefore, they are entitled to receive wages at the rate applicable to their category. Attached, please find their minimum wages.

Dear Sir,

Thank you for the inputs. Until I saw these notifications, I was under the impression that the minimum wages for various categories of employment are above Rs. 350/-. However, the practices and requirements on paper differ greatly in Kerala, like in any other state. It's really surprising.

Thank you.

Daily rate of wages (basic plus dearness allowance) for unskilled workers in the organized sector will be around Rs. 320 approximately. The new rate is yet to come and that will certainly cover the rate declared by the central government recently. If you compare the rate in other states, you will find that even the skilled workers do not get the rates prescribed for unskilled workers in Kerala. In the unorganized sector, the rate is above Rs. 750 per day in Kerala!!

Madhu.T.K

Hi Friends,

Could anyone please send me the updated files on the minimum wages of Kerala Shops & Establishments for all categories of employees?

Thank you.

Hi friends,

Can anyone send me the minimum wages of Kerala Shops & Establishments with effect from 01-01-2017?

Hi Friends,

Can anyone send me the Minimum Wages of Kerala Shops & Establishments updated files, and ESI & EPF FORM R Model format for all categories of employees?

Thank you.

The revised minimum wages applicable to shops and commercial establishments in Kerala are attached for reference. A portion of DA has been merged into the basic salary, and the base point has been increased from 130 to 240 points, resulting in a reduction of points that earn DA. For example, the latest CPI for Ernakulam (Kochi) is 286. In the earlier calculation, DA was provided for points above 130. Therefore, it would be (286-130) multiplied by the rate of DA, let's say Rs 24.90. This has now been adjusted to (286-240) multiplied by Rs 26.

Madhu.T.K

Can I get a minimum wage chart for automobile two-wheeler showroom employees?