The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has ceased its order dated March 29, 2020 by which it had directed businesses to pay wages to employees during the lockdown. In its March 29 order, the MHA had said: “All employers, be it in the industry or in the shops and commercial establishments, shall make payment of wages of their workers, at their workplaces, on the due date, without any deduction,...
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has ceased its order dated March 29, 2020 by which it had directed businesses to pay wages to employees during the lockdown. In its March 29 order, the MHA had said: “All employers, be it in the industry or in the shops and commercial establishments, shall make payment of wages of their workers, at their workplaces, on the due date, without any deduction, for the period their establishments are under closure during the lockdown.”
On May 17, the MHA has ceased all its earlier orders on payment of wages to staff even of those units that were shut during the lockdown.
The Supreme Court on May 15 ordered administrations across India not to prosecute employers who were unable to pay full wages to the workers during the Covid-19 induced nationwide lockdown. MHA’s revised order comes into effect from May 18 and the government will not to take any coercive action against non-payment of wages to employees from May 18.