KATHMANDU, May 2: Employers will have to pay a domestic laborer a minimum wage of Rs 15,000 per month from the next fiscal year as the government is increasing the minimum pay to workers from the existing Rs 13,450 a month.
Delivering a speech to mark the 132nd International Labor Day on Saturday, Prime Minister KP Oli said the minimum monthly wage will be revised from the beginning of 2021/22. This is the seventh time that the government is revising the minimum pay since the government fixed the basic pay to workers in 2007.
The Economics of Increasing Minimum Wage
The Labour Law 2017 has sought to revise the minimum pay to workers every two years. However, the government this time is revising the floor wage rate after a three years period.
Previously, through the budget of 2018/19, the government had increased the minimum wage rate to Rs 13,450 a month, 38.65 percent higher than the previous minimum monthly wage of Rs 9,700. At the existing minimum monthly wage, Rs 8,455 is to be paid in basic salary and Rs 4,995 in allowances to a worker.
In 2007, the government passed the Labour Regulation and fixed the minimum wage for the first time. The basic salary was set at Rs 3,300 per month.
Along with revising the minimum wage rate, the government has targeted to bring all the workers in the social security bracket, according to Prime Minister Oli. The government since November 27, 2018 has been implementing the contribution-based social security scheme.
As of now, the social security scheme has incorporated 3.6 million employees. Under the scheme, each senior citizen has been insured with an amount of Rs 100,000.
