Dear Naveen, sorry to state that my confusion still continues even after your latest reply. In industrial employment, apart from the classification with reference to tenure of employment like permanent, temporary, probationer, badlis, etc., the normal classification of paid employees would be:
(a) Managerial or Administrative cadre employees
(b) Supervisory cadre employees
(c) Workmen
(d) Apprentices or Trainees with particular reference to the nature of activities predominantly performed by them.
There can be management trainees, supervisor trainees, and trainee workmen depending upon the nature of activity to which they are to be assigned after some time. The application of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 would be strictly in respect of the scheduled employments only and that too for the posts or positions falling within the definition of the term "employee" u/s 2(1)(i) of the Act.
If one is a "trainee," first and foremost, he should be an "employee" undergoing training. Not a management trainee, for example, can be taken as a trainee for the purpose of minimum wages under the Act, 1948. If you are designated as "HR Trainee," you may be an officer undergoing basic training on the job for some time. Generally, an officer is one holding a supervisory position in respect of a particular branch of a distinct activity like HR management. As such, it cannot be equated with any work of skilled, unskilled, manual, or clerical nature mentioned in the above definition.