In Brief
SAIL operated captive limestone mines using 2040 contract labourers. After a prohibition notification on contract labour was issued in March 1993 under the Contract Labour Regulation and Abolition Act, 1970, these workers continued until April 1996. They later claimed minimum wages equal to SAIL's regular employees under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. The High Court awarded compensation. The Supreme Court held that after the prohibition notification, CLRA provisions cease to apply. The Minimum Wages Act Section 20(1) addresses only disputes over notified minimum rates, not parity claims based on work similarity or collective bargaining agreements. The agreed rate of Rs. 11.65 per day extra, which was paid, satisfied statutory obligations. Equal pay claims belong to industrial dispute forums, not wage-fixing authorities. Appeal allowed; High Court order set aside.",
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