The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the state government to convene a meeting of all stakeholders to discuss the classification of minimum wages according to different zones.

During a hearing on Thursday, an official from the labour department informed the bench of Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Duppala Venkata Ramana that the state government has agreed to fix different minimum wages according to industries.

The court was hearing a plea filed in April this year, in which industrial organisations sought the classification of minimum wages in the state based on circumstances in different industries and zones.

The official said the respondent/state was ready to fix minimum wages industry-wise or group of industry-wise, and as far as the region-wise classification was concerned, it is open for discussions with the petitioners.

To this, the court said, "In such circumstances, the respondent/state is directed to convene a meeting with the petitioners and all stakeholders for consideration of classification region-wise after issuing proper notices informing them about the date, time and venue. Thereafter, appropriate orders in respect of classification industry-wise and region-wise be passed. Let the aforesaid exercise be completed within a period of two months." Meanwhile, state Labour Minister Prahlad Patel told reporters during a meeting in Indore, "We have said earlier that we are ready to classify minimum wages based on industries. However, we are not yet ready to classify it according to different zones, but we can consider it." Girish Patwardhan, a lawyer for one of the petitioners, Madhya Pradesh Textile Mills Association, said industrial organisations have demanded that the rates of minimum wages in the state be classified according to the circumstances of different regions and industries.

"The cost of living varies in different zones of the state. Therefore, it is unfair to fix a uniform minimum wage for all zones," he said.

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