Labour Commissionerate, Government of West Bengal, issued a circular stating the minimum rates of wages for employees in 30 Scheduled Employments in the State, including Bakery, Bell Metal and Brass Industry, Ceramic Industry, Hotels and Restaurants, Sweeping and Cleaning, Tailoring Industry, and others. The rates are stated to have been updated per Fixation/Revision Notifications listed against each employment, and for Zone-B, with reference to Circular No. 06/Stat/14/RW/24/2023/LCS/JLC dated 09.01.2026 read with Labour Department Notification No. I/723462/2025/LABR-25099/31/2025-LWMW dated 15.12.2025.
The circular sets out minimum wages for Unskilled, Semi-skilled, Skilled, and (where applicable) Highly-Skilled categories across two implementing zones, Zone-A and Zone-B, with rates stated per month and per day. Zone-A covers areas including KMDA, Asansol, Durgapur, Siliguri, Digha-Shankarpur, thermal power plant townships, and specified sub-divisions of Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan, 24-Parganas (North and South), West Medinipur, Darjeeling, Bankura, and Purulia. Zone-B covers the rest of West Bengal. The document states that daily rates are calculated by dividing monthly rates by 26, weekly rates by multiplying daily rates by 6, and that a normal working day consists of eight and a half hours including a half-hour rest interval. It states that one day per seven-day period is a weekly rest day, with the minimum wages inclusive of pay for this day, and that work on the rest day or beyond normal hours is paid at double the ordinary rate. The circular states that where existing wage rates (contractor-based, agreement-based, or otherwise) exceed the notified rates, the higher rates apply. It states the minimum rates apply to contractor-employed workers, that piece-rate work shall not fall below daily minimum time rates, that rates for persons with disabilities are the same as for workers of the corresponding category, and that men and women receive equal pay for the same or similar work. It states that minimum wages together with variable dearness allowance, where applicable, constitute the enforceable minimum wage under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.