Background
Under Section 3(1)(a) and (b) read with Section 5 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (Central Act No. 11 of 1948), read with the Minimum Wages (Tamil Nadu) Rules, 1953, the Government of Tamil Nadu is empowered to fix and periodically revise minimum rates of wages for scheduled employments in the State. Acting under this authority, the Labour Welfare and Skill Development Department (formerly the Labour and Employment Department), Government of Tamil Nadu, has issued a series of Government Orders (G.O.s) revising the minimum rates of wages applicable to individual scheduled employments in the State. Unlike states that issue a single consolidated annual notification covering all scheduled employments together, Tamil Nadu notifies revisions separately, employment by employment, each carrying its own G.O. number and effective date.
Applicability
These rates apply to all employers in the State of Tamil Nadu engaging workers in employments notified as scheduled employments under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, spanning sectors such as shops and commercial establishments, construction, agriculture, security services, textiles and powerloom, domestic work, and numerous other listed trades and occupations. Within each scheduled employment, the applicable rate further varies by geographic zone and by the worker’s skill classification — Unskilled, Semi-Skilled, Skilled, and Highly Skilled, as specified in the relevant G.O. Employers should identify the scheduled employment, the applicable G.O., zone, and skill category before applying the corresponding rate to a given worker.
Compliance Requirements
Given the large number of scheduled employments in Tamil Nadu and the fact that each is governed by its own separately dated G.O. — several of them revised at different points over recent years — the detailed employment-wise and zone-wise wage schedule is not reproduced in this write-up. Employers should refer directly to the official Labour Department page below, which lists the applicable G.O.s by scheduled employment, before processing payroll.
Reference: https://labour.tn.gov.in/minimum-wages.php
Penalty and Consequences
Under Section 22 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, an employer who pays an employee less than the minimum rate of wages fixed for that employee’s class of work, or who contravenes any rule or order made under Section 13 of the Act, is punishable with imprisonment for a term extending up to six months, or with fine extending up to ₹500, or with both. Under Section 22A of the Act, any employer who contravenes any other provision of the Act or of any rule or order made thereunder, for which no specific penalty is otherwise provided, is punishable with a fine extending up to ₹500.
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