Issue #1: Wage and hour protections Issue 1.1: Creation of a low and arbitrary national floor wage What it is: Chapter II of the Code on Wages, %'"# provides for two wages: one national universal wage, referred to as a floor wage, and one minimum wage to be set by the “appropriate government” (either states or the central government in central territories or industries where the central government has wage-setting power). Section # states that no minimum wage can be at or below the floor wage, and Section *$states no employer shall pay less than the minimum wage. Section ")$ governs overtime, which is to be paid at twice the basic wage, as before. Why it is new: A national floor wage being written into law is new; previously, the floor wage was only policy. Indian labour and employment law prescribed only a state-level minimum wage. This minimum wage must be set according to accepted government policy and Supreme Court precedent defining the criteria that must be considered.(' Why it matters: The creation of a new floor wage in the law separate from the existing minimum wage effectively eliminates the protective effect of wage legislation. While trade unions wanted a national wage standard, their intention was to raise the bar for minimum wages, rather than to permit low wages through a floor wage. Section #/%1 of the Code on Wages, %'"# states that minimum wages cannot be lower than they were at the time of enactment, but the floor wage puts no pressure on them to increase. Instead, it permits them to remain extremely low, given the government’s tendency to fix floor wage at very low levels.(" Because there are no requirements for setting the “floor wage,” the central government has the power to set the wage arbitrarily. Section #/"1 of the Code on Wages, %'"# states that the floor wage must be set “taking into account minimum living standards of a worker” and “may be fixed for different geographical areas.” However, the Code does not define “minimum living standard” or require that the government do more than “take it into account.” (% By contrast, using the required methodology for setting the minimum wage, in January %'"# the Expert Committee on Determining the Methodology for Fixing the National Minimum Wage (NMW) recommended fixing the daily minimum wage at (-* INR or the monthly NMW at #.-*' INR, with an additional house rent allowance averaging ".)(' INR per month (** INR per day) for the urban areas. This is much higher than the current daily floor wage of "-, INR the central government has set.(( 21