The Labour Department, Govt. of Punjab on November 05, 2026, issued the Code of Wages (Punjab) Rules, 2026.
The following has been stated:
• The rules establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for labor welfare and wage governance across the state. It mandates that minimum daily wages must be calculated based on a standard working-class family of three adult consumption units requiring a net intake of 2700 calories per day, clothing, housing, and educational expenditures. It classifies occupations into unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, and highly skilled categories, overseen by a Chief Secretary-led Technical Committee, and requires the Labour Commissioner to adjust the basic wages and Cost-of-Living Allowance (COLA) twice a year—before April 1st and October 1st.
• The rules define a normal working day as eight hours with weekly working hours capped at forty-eight, alongside an entitlement to a weekly paid rest day that requires a minimum of double the normal wage rate as overtime if worked. To protect laborers, authorized wage deductions are strictly capped at 50% per month, contractors must ensure timely payment and compliance with statutory welfare funds, and Principal Employers are held secondary liable for unpaid contract labor wages.
• Additionally, it sets up a 14-member State Advisory Board where one-third of the members must be women, outlines strict proportions for distributing a deceased employee's undisbursed dues to their family or depositing them with the Punjab Labour Welfare Board, and mandates electronic or physical maintenance of statutory registers for five years.
[Notification No. - G.S.R.61/C.A.29/2019/S.67/2026]
