PANAJI
The State government has proposed a major labour law reform with direct implications for workers and their families, introducing strict timelines for the settlement of unpaid wages and other service-related dues.
The draft Goa Code on Wages Rules, 2026, now open for public suggestions for 45 days, proposes that employers transfer unclaimed dues to the Labour Commissioner within a fixed timeframe, with amounts eventually moving to the Goa Labour Welfare Board if they remain unclaimed for seven years.
The draft seeks to replace Goa’s long-standing wage rules in line with the Code on Wages, 2019.
One of the main features of the proposed framework is Chapter V -- Payment of Dues, Claims, etc, which lays down a clear, time-bound mechanism to ensure that wages and other dues payable to employees do not remain indefinitely with employers in cases of death, disappearance, or where nominees fail to claim the amount.
“... any amount payable to an employee under the Code is due after his death or on account of his whereabouts not being known, and the amount could not be paid to the nominee of the employee until the expiry of three months from the date the amount had become payable, then such amount shall be deposited by the employer with the Commissioner, who shall disburse the amount to the person nominated by the employee after ascertaining his identity within two months of the date on which the amount was so deposited with him,” it states.
The draft turns more stringent in cases where no nomination has been made. It states that if the amount remains undisbursed because no nomination exists, or for any other reason it could not be paid to the nominee within six months from the date it became payable, the employer must deposit the amount with the Commissioner within 15 days after the end of six-month period.
Under Rule 37, every employee is required to make a declaration in Form II, nominating a person entitled to receive any amount standing to the employee’s credit in the event of death.
The deposited amount is not to remain idle as Rule 39 provides that the Commissioner shall invest undisbursed dues in Central or State Government securities or place them in a fixed deposit with a scheduled bank. Public notices are also to be issued to trace the rightful claimants.
The most striking safeguard comes in the final clause, which provides that if the undisbursed amount remains unclaimed for seven years, it shall be transferred to the Goa Labour Welfare Board.
It also stipulates that registers required to be maintained shall be preserved for five years after the date of the last entry made therein.
Further, every employer shall issue wage slips, either electronically or in physical form, to employees on or before payment of wages.
Another feature of the draft is the detailed framework for the fixation of minimum wages, with the calculation based on the needs of a standard working-class family comprising a spouse and two children.
The notification specifies norms such as 2,700 calories per day per consumption unit, 66 metres of cloth per year, housing rent at 10 per cent of food and clothing expenditure, and 25 per cent towards children’s education, medical needs, recreation and contingencies.
In yet another significant provision, the Labour Department has proposed that the variable dearness allowance (VDA) be revised twice a year, before April 1 and October 1, based on the Average Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers published by the Labour Bureau under the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment.
The notification further covers working hours, weekly rest days, overtime wages, and the classification of employees into unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled categories.
