The draft, for the first time, fixed minimum wages for 18 scheduled employments apart from revising minimum wages in the rest. In a departure from the past minimum wage revision, Karnataka considered non-vegetarian diet to calculate the cost of food (2,700 calories per consumption unit) to form the minimum wage matrix. “Legally, there is no scheduled employment now and the Minimum Wages Act has been repealed with the notification of Code on Wages, 2019. The power to fix minimum wages under old Acts has been taken away by the new Code. The Department sources say that the decision on the minimum wages will only be made in consultation with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, even as the AITUC plans a State-wide protest against the delay in implementation of minimum wages on March 5.

Source: The Hindu February 27, 2026 12:01 UTC