law: Minimum Wages Act, 1948
  3. Fixing of minimum rates of wages 
  (1) The appropriate government shall in the
  
  manner hereinafter provided –
  
  
  (a) fix the minimum rates
  
  of wages payable to employees employed in an employment specified in Part I or
  
  Part II of the Schedule and in an employment added to either Party by
  
  notification under section 27 :
  
  Provided that the appropriate government may in respect of employees
  
  employed in an employment specified in Part II of the Schedule instead of
  
  fixing minimum rates of wages under this clause for the whole State fix such
  
  rates for a part of the State or for any specified class or classes of such
  
  employment in the whole State or part thereof;
  (b) review at such
  
  intervals as it may think fit such intervals not exceeding five years the
  
  minimum rates of wages so fixed and revise the minimum rates if necessary :
  Provided that where for any
  
  reason the appropriate government has not reviewed the minimum rates of wages
  
  fixed by it in respect of any scheduled employment within any interval of five
  
  years nothing contained in this clause shall be deemed to prevent it from
  
  reviewing the minimum rates after the expiry of the said period of five years
  
  and revising them if necessary and until they are so revised the minimum rates
  
  in force immediately before the expiry of the said period of five years shall
  
  continue in force.
  (1A) Notwithstanding anything contained in
  
  sub-section (1) the appropriate government may refrain from fixing minimum
  
  rates of wages in respect of any scheduled employment in which there are in the
  
  whole State less than one thousand employees engaged in such employment but if
  
  at any time the appropriate government comes to a finding after such inquiry as
  
  it may make or cause to be made in this behalf that the number of employees in
  
  any scheduled employment in respect of which it has refrained from fixing
  
  minimum rates of wages has risen to one thousand or more it shall fix minimum
  
  rates of wages payable to employees in such employment as soon as may be after
  
  such finding.
  (2) The appropriate government may fix –
  (a) a minimum rate of
  
  wages for time work (hereinafter referred to as "a minimum time
  
  rate");
  (b) a minimum rates of
  
  wages for piece work (hereinafter referred to as "a minimum piece
  
  rate");
  (c) a minimum rate of
  
  remuneration to apply in the case of employees employed on piece work for the
  
  purpose of securing to such employees a minimum rate of wages on a time work
  
  basis (hereinafter referred to as "a guaranteed time rate");
  (d) a minimum rate
  
  (whether a time rate or a piece rate) to apply in substitution for the minimum
  
  rate which would otherwise be applicable in respect of overtime work done by
  
  employees (hereinafter referred to as "overtime rate").
  (2A) Where in respect of an industrial dispute
  
  relating to the rates of wages payable to any of the employees employed in a
  
  scheduled employment any proceeding is pending before a Tribunal or National
  
  Tribunal under the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 (14 of 1947) or before any like
  
  authority under any other law for the time being in force or an award made by
  
  any Tribunal National Tribunal or such authority is in operation and a
  
  notification fixing or revising the minimum rates of wages in respect of the
  
  scheduled employment is issued during the pendency of such proceeding or the
  
  operation of the award then notwithstanding anything contained in this Act the
  
  minimum rates of wages so fixed or so revised shall not apply to those
  
  employees during the period in which the proceeding is pending and the award
  
  made therein is in operation or as the case may be where the notification is
  
  issued during the period of operation of an award during that period; and where
  
  such proceeding or award relates to the rates of wages payable to all the
  
  employees in the scheduled employment no minimum rates of wages shall be fixed
  
  or revised in respect of that employment during the said period.
  (3) In fixing or revising minimum rates of
  
  wages under this section –
  (a) different minimum
  
  rates of wages may be fixed for –
  (i) different
  
  scheduled employments;
  (ii) different classes
  
  of work in the same scheduled employment;
  (iii) adults
  
  adolescents children and apprentices;
  (iv) different localities;
  (b) minimum rates of
  
  wages may be fixed by any one or more of the following wage periods; namely :
  (i) by the hour
  (ii) by the day
  (iii) by the month or
  (iv) by such other 
  
  larger wage-period as may be prescribed
  and where such rates
  
  are fixed by the day or by the month the manner of calculating wages for a
  
  month or for a day as the case may be may be indicated :
  Provided that where any
  
  wage-periods have been fixed under section 4 of the Payment of Wages Act 1936
  
  (4 of 1936) minimum wages shall be fixed in accordance therewith.