News Analysis India

Tag: Minimum Wage

  • Railways ensures 100% compliance of payment of minimum wages to contract workers through Shramik Kalyan Portal

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Indian Railways has ensured 100 per cent compliance of payment of minimum wages to contract workers through e-application Shramik Kalyan Portal, the Ministry of Railways informed on Thursday.

    Rs 3,49,590 lakh of wage amount and about 6 crores man-days were registered on Indian Railway Shramik Kalyan e-application as on Tuesday, it said.

    A total of 15,812 contractors and 3,81,831 contract workers also registered on this portal till Tuesday.

    Indian Railway Shramik Kalyan e-application has been developed and launched on October 1 2018.

    “E-Application ensures the compliance of provisions of the Minimum Wages Act and also ensures that contractual workers working in Indian Railways get their rightful due by enforcing the contractors to regularly upload wage payment data into e-application. This helps Railways as Principal Employer, to keep vigil over wages disbursed by contractors to contract workers,” read the release.

    “As of March 9, a total of 15,812 contractors and a total of 3,81,831 contract workers are registered on this portal. Along with this, a total of 48,312 no. of letter of acceptance (LOA), Rs 3,49, 590 lakhs (More than Rs 3495 crores) wage amount and about 6 crores man-days are also registered on this portal across Indian Railways,” it said.

    The ministry said all Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) working under the Ministry of Railways are also using this e-application.

    “The Portal enables all the contractors of different units of Railways i.e., divisions, workshops, PUs, PSUs to register themselves on e-application and subsequently add Work Orders issued by different Railway units to them,” said the release.

    The contractors have to create a profile of each contract worker engaged by him for the work and update the wages provided to him on regular basis.

    “There are checks in the portal to ensure that wages paid by the contractors conform to Minimum Wages fixed by the Government of India from time to time. Railways’ bill passing authorities, before passing the contractors’ bills, have to check whether the contract workers wage data have been uploaded by the contractor on e-application or not. For ensuring compliance of the same, necessary changes have also been made in the contract conditions,” said the Ministry.

    “Provision is available in the e-application to generate ID of the contract worker and also to send SMS from time to time about wages paid to him and contribution made to EPF and ESIC,” read the release.  

  • Blake Shelton faces backlash over new song ‘Minimum Wage’

    By ANI
    WASHINGTON: American singer-songwriter Blake Shelton faced backlash for debuting a song titled ‘Minimum Wage’ while people in America continue to struggle amid the coronavirus pandemic.

    According to Page Six, the 44-year-old singer debuted the new single on NBC’s New Year’s Eve television special alongside Carson Daly to help ring in 2021. The country singer told the host that his fiancee, Gwen Stefani, helped get her brother, Todd, to direct the video.

    The artist’s new song has to do with his love for the 51-year-old ‘Hollaback Girl’ singer and contains a lyric in the chorus that upset many people who saw the broadcast.

    “Girl, your love can make a man feel rich on minimum wage.”

    As reported by Page Six, given the fact that the coronavirus pandemic has caused many businesses to shut down and put countless Americans out of work, people were quick to take to Twitter to criticise the singer for releasing a song they believed was “tone deaf” given the current climate.

    “The irony of listening to a millionaire Blake Shelton singing about ‘love on minimum wage’ at the end of 2020 might be lost on its target audience,” one user wrote.

    “I love his music but the timing for Minimum Wage isn’t great. With so many people out of work and struggling the song feels a little tone deaf. I’d like to hear songs that are more personal. Wish he wrote more of his own stuff because he’s an incredible song writer,” another wrote in a tweet that was unavailable as of Sunday (local time).

    Someone else agreed, writing: “Does anyone else find Blake Shelton’s “Minimum Wage” song to be incredibly tone deaf to our country’s current state?”

    “What!? @blakeshelton is #MinimumWage even for real? Yes of course @gwenstefani can make a dude on minimum wage feel rich cuz she’s a millionaire. Are you working at the Home Depot now or something? Wanna pay my rent?” someone else concluded.

    As per Page Six, the song has not yet been fully released and Shelton has yet to publicly comment on the backlash on social media.