Cashless Payments: Factory Workers To Be Paid By Cheque Or Direct Transfer Into Accounts

Salaries for millions of factory workers will soon have to be paid by cheque or through direct transfer into their bank accounts – and this will be made mandatory.

The move by the government, in the light of demonetisation, will also serve another purpose of ensuring that workers are paid the minimum wages specified by the Centre and states, the Times of India said in a report. Workers whose wages do not exceed Rs 18,000 per month will be covered under the new rule. A substantial number of workers now have a bank account with the strides technology has made in the country, the sources said, adding, cash payments also contribute to ineffective enforcement of wages to workers, the paper said.

While the central government will be authorised to implement this measure in the case of workers employed by the railways, in air transport services and mines, and at oilfields, the state governments will take charge at the level of industrial and factory establishments. The government will enforce the measure by amending Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936.