How Should Contractors Determine Minimum Wages When Contracts Lack Manpower Details?

Some contractors, like Housekeeping, have job contracts for cleaning 10,000 sq ft of office premises. In such cases, the number of manpower is not mentioned, and it is up to the contractor to employ as many people as he wants.

Minimum Wage Considerations for Contractors

In such cases, what minimum wages should the contractor pay them if his principal employer is, for example, the Engineering Industry, Drugs & Pharma, etc., even though the contractor is registered under the Shop Act? Should he pay according to the schedule applicable to the principal employer or as per the Shop Act?

Wage Applicability for Contractors

Under normal circumstances, wages applicable to the scheduled industry are the amounts payable to the workers engaged by the contractor. This is because the workers of contractors are considered workers of the establishment for all purposes, such as the coverage of PF, ESI, Gratuity, or Bonus Acts, and the applicability of retrenchment or layoff compensation, etc.

At the same time, if the housekeeping activity has been recognized as scheduled employment (like in Kerala, where there is a separate minimum wage fixed for cleaning and sweeping workers), then the wages applicable to that industry can be paid.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K