CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -New Zealand was the first country to implement a minimum wage in 1894, followed by the Australian state of Victoria in 1896, and the United Kingdom in 1909. Frequently, minimum wages were considered as a temporary measure, to be phased out once wage bargaining between social partners would be established.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Central Advisory Council appointed a Tripartite Committee of Fair Wage during its first session organized in November 1948. This committee devised the concept of minimum wage for preserving efficiency and guaranteeing bare subsistence which can cater to the requirements of medicine, education, and comfort.

Detailed explanation-3: -THE MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948 ACT NO. 11 OF 1948 1* [15th March, 1948.] An Act to provide for fixing minimum rates of wages in certain employments.

Detailed explanation-4: -India introduced the Minimum Wages Act in 1948, giving both the Central government and State government jurisdiction in fixing wages. The act is legally non-binding, but statutory. Payment of wages below the minimum wage rate amounts to forced labour.