Minimum Wage Act 1948 in Tamil Nadu: Do Schools Need to Pay Drivers and Helpers?

Could anyone help me with whether the Minimum Wage Act of 1948 is applicable to educational institutions in Tamil Nadu? Is it necessary to pay drivers and helpers under the Minimum Wage Act?

Dear Stephan,

As far as I know, employment in educational institutions has not been brought under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 so far. However, it should be borne in mind while fixing wages for general categories of workers like drivers, watchmen, and helpers in such employments not yet brought under the purview of the MW Act, 1948, that the wages do not fall below the National Floor Level Minimum Wages fixed by the Central Government, which stands at Rs. 160-00 per day w.e.f. 01-07-2015.

Minimum Wages for Educational Institutions in Tamil Nadu

Vide Tamil Nadu Notification II(2)/LE/460/2003 dated 25th June 2003, coaching academies, that is to say, tutorial colleges, technical institutes, primary or nursery schools, and English medium schools run on commercial lines without government grants, other than those run by the government and local bodies, were brought under the purview of Minimum Wages. The latest revision was in the year 2014 vide GO(2D) No. 2 dated 27/1/2014.

This notification covers non-teaching staff like clerks, typists, cashiers, librarians, drivers, office assistants, gardeners, ayahs, watchmen, and scavengers. The current Dearness Allowance (DA) for 2017-18 is Rs. 2472 per month. The minimum wages for scavengers are Rs. 4414 plus DA, and for ayahs, it is Rs. 4500 plus DA. For drivers, it is Rs. 5360 plus DA, and for clerks and typists, it is Rs. 5532 plus DA. This is for Zone A.

Thanks