Minimum Wages in Manipur (2026): Daily and Monthly Rates for Shops, Construction, Hospitals, Schools and Domestic Work

If you run a shop in Imphal's Paona Bazar, a restaurant on the Thangal road, a private clinic in Churachandpur, a school in Thoubal or a brick kiln in Bishnupur, Manipur's Skills, Labour, Employment & Entrepreneurship (SLEE) Department sets the least you can pay. Manipur's rates are simple — three all-inclusive daily figures with no separate dearness allowance — but each of the 24 scheduled employments has its own job list, and a few schedules carry different figures. This guide takes the rates from the Manipur Gazette, explains which jobs fall in which grade, covers government casual labour, the 2026 draft wage rules and the central rates in Imphal, and works through payroll in rupees.

Quick answer

Manipur's minimum wages, in force since 12 March 2025, are ₹400 a day for unskilled work, ₹440 a day for semi-skilled and ₹480 a day for skilled work. A month is counted as 30 days: ₹12,000 a month, ₹13,200 a month and ₹14,400 a month.

• All-inclusive rates under notification No.LAB-1/22/2021-LAB and EM-LAB&EMPL — no separate VDA

• Managers in private hospitals and principals of private schools: ₹590 a day

• Part-time domestic work: ₹53 an hour (housekeeping), ₹62 (cooking, child or elder care)

• No revision notified as of 12 October 2026; draft Code on Wages rules published in June 2026

How Manipur's minimum wages work

Manipur fixed its current rates in two steps under section 5 of the old Minimum Wages Act, 1948. On 16 October 2024 the SLEE Department published a proposal, on the advice of the State Advisory Board on Minimum Wages, in the Manipur Gazette Extraordinary of 18 October 2024, and gave the public 60 days to object. The final notification, No.LAB-1/22/2021-LAB and EM-LAB&EMPL, followed in March 2025; payroll trackers report it as dated and effective 12 March 2025. The final shops schedule they reproduce matches the gazetted proposal line for line.

The rates are "all-inclusive". Unlike Assam, Tripura or Meghalaya, Manipur doesn't split them into a basic wage and a VDA, so the daily figure is the whole minimum. The proposal said rates would be linked to the All-India Consumer Price Index for industrial workers (2016 = 100) and raised every six months by adding VDA, but no VDA notice had appeared by 12 October 2026. These state rates continue to apply under the Code on Wages, in force since 21 November 2025, until new rates are fixed under it.

The proposal also sets three general rules. Men and women must be paid the same. Apprentices are governed by the Apprentices Act, 1961, while trainees must get at least half the relevant minimum for their first six months and the full rate after that. Workers under 18 and workers with disabilities get 100% of the adult rate for their grade.

Manipur minimum wage calculator

Skill level / category

UnskilledSemi-skilledSkilled

Days worked in the month

Overtime hours

Actual wage paid (₹/month, optional)

Months underpaid

A full month is 26 working days; the daily rate is the monthly rate ÷ 26 where the order fixes only a monthly figure.

Monthly minimum (26 days)₹12,000

Daily rate₹400

Pay for 26 days₹12,000

Overtime at 2× (₹100/hour)₹0

Minimum gross pay this month₹12,000

Overtime is paid at twice the ordinary rate (daily rate ÷ 8 hours). Arrears assume the same shortfall in every month since the rates took effect on 12 March 2025; a claim under the Code on Wages must generally be filed within 3 years. Estimates only — check the order for your employment.

The 24 scheduled employments

The October 2024 notice lists 24 employments, each with its own schedule of job titles:

agriculture; construction or maintenance of roads and buildings; public motor transport; shops and establishments; dam construction and irrigation; water supply, sanitation and drainage; generation, transmission and supply of electricity; spinning, weaving, printing, dyeing and bleaching of silk and pina fibre; wool spinning, weaving and knitting and cotton spinning; dolls, toys, brass and bell metal; wood, bamboo and cane furniture; metal and alloy industries; soil preparation and land development; plantation of silkworm food plants; maintenance of silkworm plants in sericulture farms; rice, flour and dal mills; sweeping and cleaning; local authorities; private hospitals, nursing homes and clinics; private educational institutions; brick kilns; oil mills; domestic work; and stone crushing or breaking.

Most of them use only the three headline rates. A few schedules differ, and these are the ones where employers most often go wrong.

Shops, hotels and transport

The shops and establishments schedule covers most small businesses in Imphal, Thoubal, Kakching and Churachandpur, grouped by trade:

• Grocery, kirana, general and cloth merchants, commission agents — salesman grade I, godown keeper and driver ₹480 a day; salesman grade II ₹440 a day; helper or pallidar ₹400 a day.
• Hotels, restaurants and tea stalls — cook, karigar or tandoor cook ₹480 a day; head bearer ₹440 a day; boy helper, cleaner, bearer, waiter or serviceman ₹400 a day.
• Furniture, tailoring, photography, petrol pumps, hardware, medicine, electrical and other shops — the same pattern: master tailor, carpenter, compounder or photographer at the skilled rate; stitcher, polisher, mechanic or salesman grade II at the semi-skilled rate; helpers and suppliers at the unskilled rate.
• Cinemas, transport agencies and bus services — drivers and head machine operators at the skilled rate; conductors, cleaners and gatekeepers at the unskilled rate.
• Clerical staff in all of the above — manager, bill clerk or graduate clerk ₹480 a day; assistant manager, cashier, accountant or typist ₹440 a day; peon, chowkidar or mali ₹400 a day.

Note that a cook in a tea stall is skilled, so a roadside eatery that employs one cook and two helpers needs to budget ₹14,400 a month for the cook, not the helper rate.

Hospitals, schools, local bodies and brick kilns

These four schedules break from the three-rate pattern, according to the gazetted proposal:

Two points stand out. In a private hospital, every clinical and front-office role — staff nurse, GNM, lab and X-ray technicians, attendants and even the security guard — is placed at the skilled rate. And private schools must pay assistant teachers at least ₹480 a day, or ₹14,400 a month, under this schedule.

The sweeping and cleaning schedule sets ₹400 a day for full-time (eight-hour) sweepers and ₹420 for part-time sweepers. Because the shops schedule in the final notice matches the proposal exactly, these figures are very likely final, but confirm the hospital, school and local authority schedules against the March 2025 notice before relying on them.

Domestic workers

The domestic work schedule is the only one with hourly rates:

Households in Imphal often hire a part-time cook for the morning and evening meals. Two hours a day at ₹62 comes to ₹124 a day — about ₹3,224 for 26 days. Unlike Tripura's schedule, Manipur's rates don't assume free meals or lodging, so they are cash minimums.

Government casual and muster-roll workers

State government offices fix their own casual rates through the Finance Department, separately from the scheduled employments. An order of 5 March 2025, printed in the Gazette on 10 March, raised the daily rate for casual, muster-roll and daily-wage workers from 15 March 2025:

• Unskilled (peon, chowkidar, sweeper, mali, labourer, pump operator, khalasi): ₹225 → ₹400 a day
• Semi-skilled (field or lab assistant, mason, carpenter, fitter, welder, light-vehicle driver): ₹248 → ₹440
• Skilled (heavy-vehicle driver, head mechanic, surveyor, LDC/clerk): ₹273 → ₹480

That 78% jump brought government casual labour in line with the private-sector rates. If you're a contractor supplying workers to a state department, use whichever of the two is higher for the job.

Hours, overtime and converting the rates

The schedules give a day rate and a monthly rate equal to 30 days' pay, so a full-time monthly employee — a shop salesman, a clinic receptionist, a school peon — should get at least the monthly figure. For a worker paid by the day, the day rate applies to each day worked.

The proposal itself is silent on hours, but the general rule is eight hours of work a day and 48 a week, and the Code on Wages requires overtime at twice the normal rate of wages. Divide the daily rate by eight for an hourly rate: ₹50 for unskilled work, ₹55 for semi-skilled and ₹60 for skilled. An overtime hour is therefore worth ₹100, ₹110 and ₹120.

For part-time work outside the domestic schedule, pay the hourly equivalent for the hours worked: a shop helper on a four-hour shift is owed at least ₹200 for the day.

The October 2026 position — and when to expect a revision

As of 12 October 2026, the March 2025 rates were still the latest. We checked the Manipur Gazette's extraordinary list and the SLEE Department's notices and found no VDA order or new rate notification. HR compliance trackers also show the 12 March 2025 rates as current in October 2026.

Manipur minimum wages, 2021–26

18 Nov 2021

First draft Code on Wages (Manipur) Rules, 2021 published

18 Oct 2024

Proposal to revise rates for 24 employments gazetted (60 days for objections)

12 Mar 2025

Final notification: ₹400 a day / ₹440 a day / ₹480 a day a day

15 Mar 2025

Government casual labour raised to ₹400–₹480 a day

18 Jun 2026

Draft Code on Wages (Manipur) Rules, 2026 replaces the 2021 draft

12 Oct 2026

No VDA or new rates notified

The draft Code on Wages (Manipur) Rules, 2026

On 18 June 2026 the SLEE Department signed a fresh draft of the Code on Wages (Manipur) Rules, 2026, replacing the draft of 19 November 2021, and sent it to the Directorate of Printing and Stationery the next day for the Gazette, together with draft rules under the other three labour codes. The public has 45 days from the Gazette date to object; TeamLease reports the deadline as 5 August 2026. The rules come into force only on final publication, which we had not seen by 12 October 2026.

The draft would change how Manipur fixes wages:

• Three areas. Rates would be fixed separately for the Imphal Municipal Corporation, for municipal councils and nagar panchayats, and for rural areas. Today one rate applies statewide.
• Three skill grades. A technical committee chaired by the Deputy Labour Commissioner would sort occupations into unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled.
• Need-based formula. Rates would follow the Supreme Court's Reptakos Brett judgment and the 15th Indian Labour Conference norms — 2,700 calories per consumption unit, 66 metres of cloth a year for a family, housing at 10% of food and clothing, and so on — and must be at least the national floor wage, which had not been notified (the old advisory figure was ₹176 a day (advisory, 2017)).
• Conversion. A daily rate would be divided by eight for an hourly rate and multiplied by 26 for a monthly rate — not 30 as now.
• Dearness allowance. It would be worked out before 1 April and 1 October each year.
• Hours. Eight hours of work a day with up to an hour of rest, a spread-over of no more than 12 hours, and a weekly rest day after six days' continuous work.

Central-sphere work in Manipur

If you supply workers to a central government office, a bank, Imphal airport, the railway projects in the state, a central PSU or a central institution, the central minimum wages apply. No Manipur town appears in Area A or B of the central annexure, so the whole state is Area C. From 1 October 2026 that means ₹565 a day for unskilled construction, sweeping and cleaning, ₹661 for semi-skilled, ₹794 for skilled work and unarmed guards, and ₹933 for highly skilled work and armed guards.

The difference is large: ₹565 against the state's ₹400 a day for the same cleaner. Price central contracts on the central rates, which rise every 1 April and 1 October.

Worked payroll examples in ₹

Example 1 — a helper in an Imphal grocery. Unskilled: ₹12,000 a month a month.

• ESI (wages below ₹21,000/month, if covered): employee 0.75% = ₹90; employer 3.25% = ₹390
• EPF at 12% of wages (if covered): ₹1,440 each side
• Net pay = ₹10,470

Example 2 — a cook in a Thangal restaurant. Skilled: ₹14,400 a month. ESI ₹108; EPF ₹1,728; net ₹12,564.

Example 3 — a mason on a house in Thoubal, paid daily. Skilled construction: ₹480 a day a day. For 22 days, ₹10,560. Two overtime hours on five days: 10 × ₹120 = ₹1,200. Total ₹11,760.

Example 4 — a staff nurse in a private nursing home. The hospital schedule places nurses at the skilled rate: at least ₹14,400 a month a month, whatever the job title says.

Example 5 — a school peon in Churachandpur. Unskilled: ₹12,000 a month a month; the school's assistant teachers must get at least ₹14,400.

Monthly minimum-wage check for a Manipur employee

Step 1

Central-sphere work? → Area C rates

Step 2

Find your employment's schedule

24 schedules

Step 3

Match the job title to a grade

₹400 / ₹440 / ₹480

Step 4

Monthly = day rate × 30

Step 5

Overtime at 2× the hourly rate

Step 6

Watch for VDA and the final 2026 rules

Contract and migrant workers

Contract workers are owed the same rates as direct employees doing the same work. A hospital that outsources security, or a government department that hires cleaners through an agency, is the principal employer and can be held responsible if the contractor underpays. Ask contractors for wage registers, bank-transfer proof and ESI and EPF challans each month, and pay agency invoices only against them.

Workers from outside Manipur are paid at Manipur rates for work done in the state. For daily-rated workers — building labour, farm hands at transplanting and harvest, loaders at the Khwairamband market — keep an attendance register so that days worked and amounts paid can be matched.

Employer duties under the Code on Wages

• Pay on time — monthly wages before the end of the 7th day of the next month; full and final settlement within 2 working days.
• Deductions — no more than 50% of wages of wages in total.
• Overtime — twice the normal rate of wages.
• Records — keep employee, wage and attendance registers and give a wage slip each period; see our salary slip guide.
• Benefits — ESI and EPF come on top of the minimum.

Manipur minimum wage checklist

0/6

• Find your employment among the 24 schedules
• Match each worker's job to a grade — nurses, cooks and drivers are skilled
• Pay at least the monthly (30-day) figure to full-time staff
• Use the hourly domestic rates for part-time household help
• Pay central Area C rates on central-sphere contracts
• Watch the Gazette for a VDA order and the final 2026 wage rules

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Common mistakes Manipur employers make

Using the helper rate for skilled staff. Cooks, drivers, nurses, technicians and graduate clerks are skilled under the schedules.

Paying 26 days for a monthly wage. The current schedules use 30 days. Paying a shop helper ₹400 × 26 = ₹10,400 leaves you ₹1,600 short of the monthly minimum.

Assuming meals count. The rates are all-inclusive cash minimums.

Paying trainees half for too long. Half the rate is allowed only for a trainee's first six months.

Mixing up government casual rates and scheduled rates. They are fixed by different departments, though both now start at ₹400.

What happens if you underpay

A worker, a group of workers or a union can claim unpaid minimum wages under the Code on Wages within 3 years, and the authority can award the shortfall plus compensation of up to 10 times the claim. Paying below the minimum is an offence with a fine of up to ₹50,000 for a first offence and up to ₹1 lakh fine and/or 3 months' imprisonment for a repeat. Complaints go to the Labour Commissioner's office in Imphal.

Official links

• Proposed minimum rates, Schedules I–XXIV (Manipur Gazette, 18.10.2024)
• Casual / muster-roll wage order (Manipur Gazette, 10.03.2025)
• Manipur Gazette — extraordinary issues
• The Code on Wages, 2019 (India Code)

What to do next

Check each worker's grade and monthly pay against the schedule for your business, fix any shortfall, and keep an eye on the Gazette for a VDA order and the final Code on Wages (Manipur) Rules. Then issue wage slips with our free salary slip generator, read our guides to the four labour codes and the Code on Wages, and compare our Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland pages if you also employ people in neighbouring states.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum wage in Manipur in 2026?

The rates in force since 12 March 2025 are ₹400 a day for unskilled work, ₹440 a day for semi-skilled and ₹480 a day for skilled work. They are all-inclusive, so there is no separate VDA. No revision had been notified by 12 October 2026.

What is the monthly minimum wage in Manipur?

The Manipur schedules give monthly figures at 30 times the daily rate: ₹12,000 a month for unskilled workers, ₹13,200 a month for semi-skilled and ₹14,400 a month for skilled. Pay at least these amounts to a full-time monthly employee.

Does Manipur pay VDA on minimum wages?

Not at present. The 2024 proposal said rates would be linked to the CPI for industrial workers and raised every six months through VDA, but no VDA notification had been issued as of 12 October 2026. The draft Code on Wages (Manipur) Rules, 2026 would require dearness allowance to be reviewed before 1 April and 1 October each year.

What is the minimum wage for domestic workers in Manipur?

Under the domestic work schedule, a part-time worker doing housekeeping gets ₹53 an hour and a part-time cook or baby/elderly carer ₹62 an hour. Full-time workers (8 hours) get ₹400 a day a day for housekeeping, ₹440 a day for baby or elderly care and ₹480 a day for cooking.

What is the daily wage for casual labourers in Manipur government offices?

A Finance Department order of 5 March 2025 raised the daily rate for casual, muster-roll and daily-wage workers in state government offices from ₹225 to ₹400 a day for unskilled work, from ₹248 to ₹440 for semi-skilled work and from ₹273 to ₹480 for skilled work, from 15 March 2025.

Do central minimum wages apply in Imphal?

Only for central-sphere work — central government offices, banks, railways, Imphal airport, central PSUs and their contractors. Imphal is not listed in Area A or B of the central annexure, so it is Area C, where unskilled construction, sweeping and cleaning pays ₹565 a day from 1 October 2026.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 12 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Manipur Gazette Extraordinary No.202, 18 October 2024 — SLEE Department notification No.LAB-1/22/2021-LAB and EM-LAB&EMPL (proposal to revise minimum rates of wages, Schedules I–XXIV) — Skills, Labour, Employment & Entrepreneurship Department, Government of Manipur (Directorate of Printing & Stationery) · accessed 12 October 2026
2. 2.Manipur Gazette Extraordinary No.389, 10 March 2025 — Finance Department order No.PIC-22/3/2024-e-FD dated 5 March 2025 — Finance Department (Pay Implementation Cell), Government of Manipur · accessed 12 October 2026
3. 3.Manipur Gazette — Extraordinary gazette list — Directorate of Printing & Stationery, Government of Manipur · accessed 12 October 2026
4. 4.Draft Code on Wages (Manipur) Rules, 2026 — notification No.LAB-104/2/2021-LAB and EM-LAB&EMPL dated 18 June 2026, with forwarding letter of 19 June 2026 — SLEE Department, Government of Manipur (document hosted by Simpliance) · accessed 12 October 2026
5. 5.Revision of Minimum Wages Manipur – 120325 — AscentHR · accessed 12 October 2026
6. 6.Latest Minimum Wages for Shops and Establishments in Manipur — DCPSOL · accessed 12 October 2026
7. 7.Draft Code on Wages (Manipur) Rules, 2026 — TeamLease RegTech · accessed 12 October 2026
8. 8.Labour Bureau orders dated 30 September 2026 — revised VDA and central minimum wages w.e.f. 01.10.2026, with Area A/B/C annexure — Labour Bureau, Chandigarh, Ministry of Labour & Employment (published on clc.gov.in) · accessed 12 October 2026
9. 9.The Code on Wages, 2019 (No. 29 of 2019) — India Code, Legislative Department · accessed 12 October 2026
10. 10.Government announces implementation of the four Labour Codes (21 Nov 2025) — PIB — Ministry of Labour & Employment · accessed 12 October 2026