Understanding Labor Laws and Minimum Wages
An organization coming under the purview of labor laws may have its registered office or headquarters in a particular state for administrative convenience, while its operations can span the entire country. You know that there are Central labor laws enacted by the Parliament and State labor laws enacted by the State Legislatures under Article 246 of the Constitution, read with its seventh schedule. The Central labor laws are applicable throughout India, while the State laws are applicable within the geographical limits of the respective State only. However, when a provision of "appropriate Government" is incorporated in any Central labor law, the administration or enforcement of such a law is managed by the Central and State Governments within their jurisdiction, which may be either geographical or based on the classification of industries specified in the Act.
The Minimum Wages Act, 1948
The Minimum Wages Act, 1948, is one such Central Labor Law having Central and State Governments as appropriate Governments based on the classification of the industries. Therefore, when your company falls under the State Government jurisdiction by classification and has branches in other states, there may be a difference in the rates of minimum wages for the same type of employment. At times, you may, as a contractor, undertake to do some work on a contract basis for any industry falling under the Central sphere.
Therefore, you should take into account the minimum rates of wages of various states and the Central Government for a particular job position and fix the higher rate only to maintain parity if you have interstate transfers of employees.