BENGALURU: The High Court has set a deadline of eight weeks for payment of unpaid wages to workers, while upholding the minimum wages fixed by the labour department. The court has also said that the payment should be made with an interest at the rate of six per cent per annum from the date on which the same was otherwise payable.
Justice Krishna S Dixit issued the directive while upholding the minimum wages notifications issued by the labour department. The court clarified that the interim orders granted earlier in this matters stand dissolved.
The court also directed the labour department to accomplish the fixation/revision of minimum wages in respect of sectors falling within those notifications within six months. The directions were issued while disposing of the writ petitions filed by the employees/trade unions which had challenged the withdrawal of three Minimum Wages notifications and one draft notification.
The court asked the labour department to issue the minimum wages notifications with retrospective effect from the respective dates on which minimum wages would have become payable.