Construction, Roads, Runways and Building Operations
Employment in construction or maintenance of roads or runways or in building operations, including laying down underground electric, wireless, radio, television, telephone, telegraph and overseas communication cables and similar other underground cabling work, electric lines, water supply lines and sewerage pipe lines.
Each cell shows the total per day, with the basic rate and the variable dearness allowance (VDA) in brackets.
| Category of worker | Area A, per day | Area B, per day | Area C, per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unskilled | ₹827 (523 + 304) | ₹693 (437 + 256) | ₹556 (350 + 206) |
| Semi-skilled / unskilled supervisory | ₹918 (579 + 339) | ₹781 (494 + 287) | ₹650 (410 + 240) |
| Skilled / clerical | ₹1,008 (637 + 371) | ₹918 (579 + 339) | ₹781 (494 + 287) |
| Highly skilled | ₹1,094 (693 + 401) | ₹1,008 (637 + 371) | ₹918 (579 + 339) |
Order F.No. 1/6(3)/2025-LS-II dated 30 March 2026, issued under Notification No. S.O. 188(E) dated 19 January 2017.
Find the Minimum Wage per Day, Month or Hour
Pick the scheduled employment and category, the area of the place of work and the period. The month and hour figures are worked from the day rate as rule 3(2) of the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026 says.
Rates from the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) orders dated 30 March 2026, effective 1 April 2026, including VDA. Piece rates of stone mines are not in the calculator. These are central sphere rates; a State Government establishment follows the State notification.
Loading and Unloading; Sweeping and Cleaning
Loading and unloading in (i) goods sheds, parcel offices of railways, (ii) other goods-sheds, go-downs, warehouses and other similar employments, (iii) docks and ports, and (iv) passengers and goods and cargo carried out at airports (both international and domestic).
Employment of sweeping and cleaning, excluding activities prohibited under the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993. Both orders give the same rates.
| Area | Basic wages | VDA | Total per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | ₹523 | ₹304 | ₹827 |
| B | ₹437 | ₹256 | ₹693 |
| C | ₹350 | ₹206 | ₹556 |
Orders F.No. 1/6(4)/2025-LS-II (loading and unloading) and File No. 1/6(5)/2025-LS-II (sweeping and cleaning), both dated 30 March 2026.
Watch and Ward
| Area | Without arms, per day | With arms, per day |
|---|---|---|
| A | ₹1,008 (637 + 371) | ₹1,094 (693 + 401) |
| B | ₹918 (579 + 339) | ₹1,008 (637 + 371) |
| C | ₹781 (494 + 287) | ₹918 (579 + 339) |
Order File No. 1/6(6)/2025-LS-II dated 30 March 2026, issued under Notification No. S.O. 191(E) dated 19 January 2017.
Agriculture
| Category of worker | Area A, per day | Area B, per day | Area C, per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unskilled | ₹528 (333 + 195) | ₹483 (303 + 180) | ₹478 (300 + 178) |
| Semi-skilled / unskilled supervisory | ₹578 (364 + 214) | ₹530 (335 + 195) | ₹488 (307 + 181) |
| Skilled / clerical | ₹627 (395 + 232) | ₹578 (364 + 214) | ₹529 (334 + 195) |
| Highly skilled | ₹694 (438 + 256) | ₹645 (407 + 238) | ₹578 (364 + 214) |
Order File No. 1/6(1)/2025-LS-II dated 30 March 2026, issued under Notification No. S.O. 186(E) dated 19 January 2017.
Mines
Employments in gypsum, barytes, bauxite, manganese, china clay, kyanite, copper, clay, magnesite, white clay, stone, steatite (including soap stones and talc), ochre, asbestos, fire clay, chromite, quartzite, quartz, silica, graphite, felspar, laterite, dolomite, red oxide, wolfram, iron ore, granite, rock phosphate, hematite, marble and calcite, uranium, mica, lignite, gravel, slate and magnetite mines.
| Category of worker | Work above ground, per day | Work below ground, per day |
|---|---|---|
| Unskilled | ₹556 (350 + 206) | ₹693 (437 + 256) |
| Semi-skilled / unskilled supervisory | ₹693 (437 + 256) | ₹827 (523 + 304) |
| Skilled / clerical | ₹827 (523 + 304) | ₹964 (610 + 354) |
| Highly skilled | ₹964 (610 + 354) | ₹1,078 (683 + 395) |
Order F.No. 1/6(2)/2025-LS-II dated 30 March 2026, issued under Notification No. S.O. 187(E) dated 19 January 2017 and amendment notification S.O. 2413(E) dated 28 July 2017.
Stone Mines: Piece Rates
| Item of work | Basic wages | VDA | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excavation and removal of over burden with 50 metres lead / 1.5 metres lift: soft soil (per 2.831 cubic metres, 100 cubic feet) | ₹351 | ₹209 | ₹560 |
| Same: soft soil with rock | ₹531 | ₹310 | ₹841 |
| Same: rock | ₹703 | ₹410 | ₹1,113 |
| Removal and stacking of rejected stones with 50 metres lead / 1.5 metres lift (per 2.831 cubic metres, 100 cubic feet) | ₹283 | ₹167 | ₹450 |
| Stone breaking or stone crushing, stone size 1.0 inch to 1.5 inches (per truck load of 5.662 cubic metres, 200 cubic feet) | ₹2,171 | ₹1,243 | ₹3,414 |
| Same: above 1.5 inches to 3.0 inches | ₹1,857 | ₹1,063 | ₹2,920 |
| Same: above 3.0 inches to 5.0 inches | ₹1,088 | ₹627 | ₹1,715 |
| Same: above 5.0 inches | ₹893 | ₹517 | ₹1,410 |
Order File No. 1/6(7)/2025-LS-II dated 30 March 2026. Workers employed on minimum guaranteed time rate of wages per day are entitled to the time rate of minimum wages plus special allowance, if any, for the unskilled category of above ground workers in stone mines.
Area A Cities
The orders enclose the classification of cities into areas A, B and C from Part II of the notification dated 19 January 2017. Area C comprises all areas not mentioned in the list to which the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 extends.
| Area A | As printed |
|---|---|
| Urban agglomerations (UA) | Ahmedabad, Bangaluru, Delhi, Greater Mumbai, Kolkata, Navi Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Chennai, Nagpur, Lucknow, Pune, Ghaziabad |
| Municipal corporations | Faridabad complex, Gurgaon |
| Printed without a suffix | Noida, Secunderabad |
Area B is a longer list of cities, from Agra to Warangal, in the Annexure and is not reproduced here.
Late Fee and Penalty
An employer who pays an employee less than the amount due under the Code is punishable with a fine of up to ₹50,000. A repeat offence within five years is punishable with imprisonment up to three months or a fine up to ₹1,00,000, or both. Code on Wages 2019 · s.54(1)(a), (b)
On a claim, the authority may order compensation of up to ten times the claim determined, in addition to the claim. The application can be made within three years from the date the claim arises. Code on Wages · s.45(2), s.45(6)
Not maintaining the registers, or maintaining them improperly, is punishable with a fine of up to ₹10,000; other contraventions with a fine of up to ₹20,000. For these the Inspector-cum-Facilitator first gives a written direction to comply, unless the same violation is repeated within five years. Code on Wages · s.54(1)(c), s.54(2), s.54(3)
What You Pay in Common Cases
Unskilled construction worker, Area A, a month
Watchman with arms, Area B, a month
Highly skilled agricultural worker, Area C, an hour
Unskilled loader in Area A paid ₹750 a day for 26 days
How to Apply and Pay
- 1Find the ratePick the scheduled employment, the area (A, B or C) of the place of work and the category of the worker.
- 2Pay at least the rateNo employer can pay less than the notified minimum rate (s.5); a worker who works less than a normal day through no fault of his own gets a full day’s wages (s.10).
- 3Pay on timeMonthly wages before the seventh day of the next month; weekly wages before the weekly holiday; daily wages at the end of the shift (s.17(1)); within two working days of removal, retrenchment or resignation (s.17(2)).
- 4Issue wage slipsIn Form V, electronically or on paper, on or before payment of wages (s.50(3), rule 52).
- 5Keep registers and display the noticeRegisters in Forms I, IV and IX kept for five years after the last entry (rule 51), and a notice of the category-wise wage rates, wage period and pay day (s.50(2)).
Documents to file with it
- Employee Register in Form I (rule 51(1)(i))
- Register of Wages, Overtime, Advances, Fines and Deductions for Damage and Loss in Form IV (rule 51(1)(ii))
- Attendance Register-cum-Muster Roll in Form IX (rule 51(1)(iii))
- Wage slip in Form V for each employee (rule 52)
- Notice with the abstract of the Code, category-wise wage rates, wage period, day and time of payment and the Inspector-cum-Facilitator’s name and address (s.50(2))
How to Use This Chart
- Pick the scheduled employment first, then the area (A, B or C) of the place of work, then the category of worker.
- The figures are rates per day. The orders say the VDA has been rounded off to the next higher rupee as per the decision of the Minimum Wages Advisory Board.
- These are central sphere rates. Establishments under a State Government follow that State's minimum wage notification.
- These are the rates effective 1 April 2026. On 2 October 2026 the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) page listed only the VDA Order of April 2026. A later revision of the VDA, if issued, is not on that page and is not included here.
- The orders state that they remain in force till the corresponding order is issued under section 7(2) of the Code on Wages, 2019.
- Area B cities are not listed on this page. Check the Annexure to the order for a city not in Area A.
- The definitions of unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled workers are in Part I of the notifications dated 19 January 2017, which are not on file.
- State minimum wages are not shown. Overtime is shown only as the rule of twice the normal rate (section 14), not worked out.
- The categories follow Part I of the 2017 notifications, as the orders say. The Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026 define unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled occupations in rule 2(1); this page does not decide which category a particular job falls in.
- The order on file is a scanned copy. The figures were read from the page images and each total was checked against basic plus VDA and against the Hindi copy in the same file.
Official documents behind this page
- Office of the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central), Orders dated 30 March 2026, File No. 1/6(1)/2025-LS-II to 1/6(7)/2025-LS-IISeven orders revising the VDA from 1 April 2026: Agriculture (S.O. 186(E)), Mines (S.O. 187(E) and S.O. 2413(E)), Construction (S.O. 188(E)), Stone Mines (S.O. 189(E)), Sweeping and Cleaning (S.O. 190(E)), Watch and Ward (S.O. 191(E)), Loading and Unloading (S.O. 192(E)); rates of VDA, basic rates and totals per day.
- Code on Wages, 2019 (29 of 2019), Gazette of India Extraordinary of 8 August 2019Section 5 (no payment below the minimum rate), section 6 (fixation by the hour, day or month; skill and area), section 7 (basic rate and cost of living allowance), sections 10 to 14 (less than a normal day, two classes of work, piece work, rest day, overtime at twice the normal rate), section 17 (time limit for payment), section 45 (claims, compensation up to ten times, three years), section 50 (registers, notice, wage slips), section 54 (penalties).
- Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026, Ministry of Labour and Employment notification G.S.R. 343(E) dated 8 May 2026Rule 2(1) (unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled occupations), rule 3 (day rate divided by eight for an hour and multiplied by twenty-six for a month, half and more rounded up), rule 4 (VDA revised before 1 April and before 1 October), rule 5 (eight-hour normal working day, 48 hours a week), rule 6 (weekly rest day), rule 51 (registers in Forms I, IV and IX, kept five years), rule 52 (wage slip in Form V).
- Annexure to the orders, Classification of AreasArea A and Area B city lists; Note 1 (Area C) and Note 2 (U.A. means Urban Agglomeration).
Disclaimer: This chart reproduces fees and rates from the official documents listed above, as read on 2 October 2026. It is general information, not professional advice for your case. Fees, rates and slabs are changed by notification, and the amount the authority’s portal or challan asks for on the day you pay is the one that applies. The calculator only adds up the figures on this page; it does not know your facts or any later change. TaxClue is not responsible for a decision taken on this page alone. Check the current notification on the official website before you pay or file.