Overview
- The Standing Committee’s 15th report, tabled on March 17, calls for an urgent, comprehensive review of the Employees’ Pension Scheme minimum and asks the Labour Ministry to explore higher budgetary support.
- Pensioners have sought a floor of Rs 7,500 and held a three‑day protest at Jantar Mantar this month, keeping pressure on policymakers to lift the long‑stagnant payout.
- The panel urges a hike in the ESIC wage ceiling with actuarial assessment, noting ministry estimates of an additional 5.6 million workers covered at Rs 25,000 and 9.7 million at Rs 30,000.
- It recommends an upward revision of the National Floor Level Minimum Wage and a transparent mechanism for periodic, automatic updates to reflect inflation and living costs.
- Stronger protections are sought for non‑standard workers, including mandatory one‑year e‑Shram registration by aggregators for gig workers and timely ESI/PF coverage with compliance monitoring for contract labour.