Minimum Wages in Meghalaya (2026): Daily Rates with VDA for All 29 Scheduled Employments

If you run a shop in Shillong's Police Bazar, a homestay in Sohra, a construction crew in Tura or a security agency in Jowai, the Meghalaya Labour Department sets the least you can pay through a single notification. Unlike most states, it doesn't publish a separate schedule for each trade: one set of four skill-based daily rates covers all 29 scheduled employments. This guide takes the figures from the Gazette of Meghalaya, shows the basic and VDA split, works out monthly and hourly pay, explains how the revisions are timed and what that means for arrears, and works through payroll in rupees.

Quick answer

From 1 October 2026, every unskilled worker in a Meghalaya scheduled employment must get at least ₹564 a day including VDA, under notification No.LE&SD.9/2023/Pt/33 dated 8 October 2026. Semi-skilled workers get ₹608 a day, skilled ₹650 a day and highly skilled ₹693 a day.

• One rate list for all 29 employments — shops, construction, hotels, guards, domestic work, farms, mines

• Unskilled = ₹525 basic + ₹39 a day VDA (VDA was ₹30 until September 2026)

• About ₹14,664 a month on 26 days; payroll trackers quote ₹16,920 (×30)

• October 2026 revision notified on 8 October 2026 — the next is due from 1 April 2027

How Meghalaya's minimum wages work

Meghalaya fixes its minimum wages under section 5 of the old Minimum Wages Act, 1948, and the notifications made under it continue to apply under the Code on Wages, in force since 21 November 2025, until the state fixes new rates under the Code. Each notification is short. It lists the 29 scheduled employments, gives a basic rate and a variable dearness allowance (VDA) for each of four skill grades, and adds a few working rules.

The current one, No.LE&SD.9/2023/Pt/33, was signed on 8 October 2026 by the Principal Secretary of the Department of Labour, Employment & Skill Development, with the concurrence of the Finance (Pay Revision) Department. It applies from 1 October 2026 and supersedes notification No.LE&SD.9/2023/Pt/26 of 1 May 2026 (rates from 1 April 2026). It is issued under section 6 of the Code on Wages, 2019, and says the rates will be revised every six months through a CPI-linked VDA.

The notification (issued under the Code on Wages, 2019) says the rates include VDA but exclude any other concession an employee already enjoys, so a free meal or a room doesn't count towards the minimum. VDA is rounded up to the next rupee.

Meghalaya minimum wage calculator

Skill level / category

UnskilledSemi-skilledSkilledHighly skilled

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) — daily × 26₹14,664

Daily rate₹564

Pay for 26 days₹14,664

Overtime at 2× (₹141/hour)₹0

Minimum gross pay this month₹14,664

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 1 October 2026; a claim under the Code on Wages must generally be filed within 3 years. Estimates only — check the order for your employment.

Which employments the rates cover

The same four rates apply to every one of these scheduled employments:

agriculture; construction and maintenance of buildings, including public health engineering; stone crushing and breaking; construction, generation and distribution of power, water supply, land development, excavation and reclamation; sericulture and weaving; fruit preservation; soil conservation; animal husbandry and veterinary work; forest work; local authorities; public motor transport; saw mills; the plywood industry; motor workshops; the furniture industry; bakeries; shops and establishments; printing presses; sale, distribution and handling of petroleum products; steel fabrication and concrete products, including brick making; tailoring; the wax and candle industry; hotels and restaurants; mines and minerals; safai karamcharis; registered factories not classified elsewhere; casual contingency employees of government authorities; domestic workers; and security guards.

That list catches almost every small business in the state. A grocery in Laitumkhrah, a bakery in Nongpoh, a petrol pump on the Shillong–Guwahati road, a limestone quarry in the Jaintia Hills, a café in Sohra and a family employing a full-time cook all work from the same table. The only question is which grade each worker belongs in.

The single list also makes Meghalaya easier to administer than its neighbours. Assam has dozens of schedules and Tripura issues more than twenty separate VDA notices each half-year. In Meghalaya one Gazette page tells you everything.

Choosing the right skill grade

Because the rate depends only on the grade, getting the grade right is the whole compliance job. The notification defines the four grades in plain terms:

• Unskilled — simple operations needing little or no skill or experience. A shop helper who stacks shelves, a cleaner, a loader, a construction helper carrying material, a domestic worker doing housework.
• Semi-skilled — some skill picked up on the job, done under a skilled worker's guidance; it also covers unskilled supervisory work. A salesperson who handles the counter, a machine helper in a saw mill, a head of a cleaning gang, a guard with some experience who supervises others.
• Skilled — skill gained through experience or training as an apprentice or at a technical or vocational institute, with work that calls for initiative and judgement. A mason, carpenter, electrician, motor mechanic, tailor who cuts and stitches, a cook who runs a kitchen, a driver.
• Highly skilled — an expert whose work requires great skill. A senior technician, a master craftsman, a supervisor of skilled trades.

The notification doesn't list job titles, so you have to judge the work, not the designation. Calling a mechanic a "helper" doesn't make the unskilled rate lawful if the person actually repairs vehicles. Where you're unsure, place the worker in the higher grade — the gap is only ₹44 a day between unskilled and semi-skilled, far less than the arrears and compensation a claim could cost.

Write the grade into the appointment letter and wage register for each worker. When a helper is promoted to independent work, move them up a grade from that date.

Monthly pay, hours and overtime

The notification fixes only daily rates. It keeps the existing hours — 8 a day and 48 a week — and says the minimum rates "include the wages payable for weekly day of rest". Overtime is paid at double the ordinary rate.

That rest-day line matters when you convert to a monthly wage. Read literally, a worker paid ₹564 a day for each of the 26 working days in a month has already been paid for the four rest days, giving a floor of ₹14,664. That is also the method in the state's draft Code on Wages rules, which multiply a daily rate by 26. Many payroll trackers, however, multiply by 30 and show ₹16,920 for unskilled work. If you pay a flat monthly salary, the ×30 figure is the safer target and removes any argument; at the very least, never pay less than ₹564 a day for each day actually worked.

For an hourly rate, divide the daily rate by eight. Unskilled work comes to ₹70.50 an hour and skilled work ₹81.25, so an overtime hour is worth ₹141 and ₹162.50 respectively.

Meghalaya minimum wage at a glance (2026)

₹564 a day

Unskilled, per day

from 1 Oct 2026

₹693 a day

Highly skilled, per day

29

Employments on one rate list

2×

Overtime rate

beyond 8 h/day or 48 h/week

The VDA record — and the October 2026 revision

On paper, Meghalaya revises VDA every six months using the Consumer Price Index for industrial workers. In practice the state has often moved more slowly, and its notices usually arrive after the date they take effect — the October 2026 notice, however, was signed on 8 October, only a week after its effective date.

The October 2024 notice, signed on 3 December 2024, had a basic of only ₹300 and VDA of ₹119, giving ₹419 a day for unskilled work. A January 2025 notification then reset the basic rates, and the April 2025 notice — signed on 21 July 2025 and printed on 4 August — showed ₹525 basic plus ₹16 VDA, or ₹541. There was no separate October 2025 revision: the April 2026 notice superseded the April 2025 one directly, adding ₹14 to the unskilled rate (₹555). The 8 October 2026 notice then raised VDA again, to ₹39, lifting the unskilled rate by ₹9 to ₹564.

So the unskilled rate rose by about 29% between October 2024 and April 2025, by about 2.6% to April 2026, and by about 1.6% more from October 2026. The Labour Commissioner's notification page lists the October 2026 notice; we had not seen it in the Gazette as of 19 October 2026, so check the Gazette text when it is printed.

Meghalaya minimum wages, 2024–26

1 Oct 2024

₹300 + ₹119 VDA = ₹419 a day unskilled (notified 3 Dec 2024)

14 Jan 2025

Basic rates revised (notification LE&SD.9/2023/101)

1 Apr 2025

₹525 + ₹16 = ₹541 unskilled (notified 21 Jul 2025)

1 Oct 2025

No separate revision issued

1 Apr 2026

₹525 + ₹30 = ₹555 unskilled (signed 1 May, Gazette 25 Jun 2026)

1 Oct 2026

₹525 + ₹39 = ₹564 unskilled (notified 8 Oct 2026, No.LE&SD.9/2023/Pt/33)

The practical point is arrears. Because each notice applies from an earlier date, anyone who keeps paying the old rate until the new notice is seen owes the difference back to the effective date. Every employer still paying ₹555 for October 2026 owes ₹9 a day for that month, and the semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled differences are ₹10, ₹10 and ₹11 a day. Build a small reserve into your payroll from each April and October, and pay the difference with the next wages once the notice is out. Deduct EPF and ESI on arrears as on ordinary wages.

Central-sphere work in Meghalaya

If your workers are employed by or for a central government office, a bank, the railways, Shillong airport at Umroi, a central public sector undertaking or a cantonment, the central minimum wages apply instead of the state rates. The Centre's area annexure lists Shillong in Area B; every other town in Meghalaya — Tura, Jowai, Nongpoh, Williamnagar, Nongstoin and the rest — falls in Area C.

From 1 October 2026 that means ₹704 a day in Shillong for unskilled construction, sweeping and cleaning, ₹794 for semi-skilled work, ₹933 for skilled work and unarmed guards, and ₹1,024 for highly skilled work and armed guards. In Area C towns the unskilled rate is ₹565.

The gap matters for contractors. An unskilled cleaner on a bank contract in Shillong is owed ₹704 a day against the state's ₹564 a day — ₹140 more. Price central contracts on the central rates and expect half-yearly increases from every 1 April and 1 October.

The draft Code on Wages Meghalaya Rules

Meghalaya hasn't yet made final rules under the Code on Wages. Its draft, called the Code on Wages Meghalaya Rules, 2024, was first printed in the Gazette on 23 January 2025 with 45 days for objections, and then published again under notification No.LE&SD.39/2024/128 dated 21 November 2025, which appeared in the Gazette on 12 February 2026. The rules will come into force only on final publication, which we had not seen by 12 October 2026. Once final, they will replace the Assam Minimum Wages Rules, 1952 and the Assam Payment of Wages Rules, 1937, which Meghalaya adapted in 1974.

The draft follows the central model:

• Minimum wages must be at or above the national floor wage under section 9 of the Code. The floor wage had not been notified; the old advisory figure was ₹176 a day (advisory, 2017).
• A daily rate is divided by eight for an hourly rate and multiplied by 26 for a monthly one, with half a rupee or more rounded up.
• Rates may vary by geographical area, experience and skill, with a technical committee chaired by the Labour Commissioner sorting occupations into the four grades.
• The cost-of-living allowance should be worked out before 1 April and 1 October each year, using the Labour Bureau's CPI for industrial workers, and paid from those dates.

The six-monthly DA rule would be a change from the recent pattern of one revision a year. Until the rules are final, the 1 October 2026 notification is the law you pay by.

Worked payroll examples in ₹

Example 1 — a helper in a Shillong grocery, paid monthly. Unskilled. Pay on the safe ×30 basis: ₹16,920.

• ESI (wages below ₹21,000/month, if the shop is covered): employee 0.75% ≈ ₹126.90; employer 3.25% ≈ ₹549.90
• EPF at 12% of wages (if covered): ₹2,030.40 each side
• Net pay ≈ ₹14,762.70

Example 2 — a mason on a house in Tura, paid by the day. Skilled: ₹650 a day a day. He works 24 days and does six hours of overtime in the month. Ordinary pay: 24 × ₹650 = ₹15,600. Overtime: ₹650 ÷ 8 × 2 = ₹162.50 an hour, so six hours = ₹975. Total ₹16,575.

Example 3 — a security guard in Jowai. A new guard doing simple watch duty is unskilled: at least ₹564 a day a day. A guard who supervises a shift or handles access control on his own is better placed as semi-skilled at ₹608 a day — ₹18,240 a month on the ×30 basis.

Example 4 — a part-time domestic worker in Shillong. She does housework for three hours each morning. Using the ÷8 method, ₹564 ÷ 8 × 3 = ₹211.50 a day, or ₹5,499 for 26 mornings. A full-time cook paid monthly is skilled work at ₹650 a day a day.

Example 5 — October 2026 arrears. A bakery in Nongpoh paid an unskilled helper ₹555 a day for 26 days in each of October and November 2026. The shortfall is ₹9 × 26 × 2 = ₹468, payable with the next wages.

Monthly minimum-wage check for a Meghalaya employee

Step 1

Central-sphere work? → Area B (Shillong) or C rates

Step 2

Is the job one of the 29 employments?

almost always yes

Step 3

Pick the skill grade

judge the work, not the title

Step 4

Daily rate × days worked (×30 for a flat monthly salary)

Step 5

Add overtime at 2×

Step 6

Pay arrears when the next notice arrives

Daily-rated, part-time and contract workers

A large share of Meghalaya's workforce is hired by the day — building labour on the outskirts of Shillong, loaders at Iewduh, farm hands at harvest, quarry workers in the Jaintia Hills. For them the daily rate is the floor for each day worked, and the rest-day wage is already inside it. Keep a simple attendance register so that days worked and amounts paid can be matched if an inspector or a worker asks.

Part-time workers get the hourly equivalent: the daily rate divided by eight, times the hours worked. Don't round down; the draft rules round half a rupee and more up to the next rupee, and the notification rounds VDA up too.

Contract workers are owed the same rates as direct employees doing the same work. A hotel that outsources housekeeping or a hospital that uses a security agency is the principal employer and can be held answerable if the contractor pays less. Ask contractors for wage registers, bank-transfer proof and ESI and EPF challans every month, and write a clause into the contract that passes on each new VDA from its effective date.

Workers coming from Assam, West Bengal or Bihar are paid at Meghalaya rates for work done in Meghalaya, whatever the contractor's home state.

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, as the notification also says.
• 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.

Meghalaya minimum wage checklist

0/6

• Download notification LE&SD.9/2023/Pt/33 dated 8 October 2026 from meglc.gov.in
• Place each worker in a skill grade by the work they actually do
• Pay at least the daily rate for every day worked; use ×30 for a flat monthly salary
• Pay overtime at double the hourly rate
• Pay October 2026 arrears if you paid ₹555 or less after 1 October
• Watch for the April 2027 revision and the final Code on Wages rules

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Common mistakes Meghalaya employers make

Waiting for the Gazette. The rates apply from 1 October even though the notice was signed on 8 October. Paying the old rate in the meantime creates arrears that workers can claim.

Paying only the basic. The ₹39 VDA is part of the minimum. A worker paid ₹525 a day is short by ₹1,014 a month on 26 days.

Grading by job title. A "helper" who drives the delivery van or a "trainee" who runs a sewing machine on his own is doing skilled work.

Treating meals and rooms as wages. The notification excludes concessions from the minimum, so the cash wage must reach the full rate.

Using state rates on central contracts. Bank, railway and central PSU work in Shillong pays the Area B central rate.

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. In Meghalaya the Labour Commissioner's office in Shillong and the district labour officers handle complaints and inspections.

Official links

• Minimum wages w.e.f. 01.10.2026 — Labour Commissioner, MeghalayaNotification LE&SD.9/2023/Pt/33 dated 8 October 2026
• Minimum wages w.e.f. 01.04.2026 — Gazette of Meghalaya, 25 June 2026 (superseded)Notification LE&SD.9/2023/Pt/26
• Gazette of Meghalaya — year-wise archive
• Draft Code on Wages Meghalaya Rules (Gazette, 12 Feb 2026)
• Meghalaya State Portal — notifications
• The Code on Wages, 2019 (India Code)

What to do next

Check every worker's grade and pay against the October 2026 table, clear any arrears from October onwards, and set aside a reserve for the next revision. 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 and Tripura 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 Meghalaya in 2026?

From 1 October 2026, the minimum wage in Meghalaya is ₹564 a day for unskilled work, ₹608 a day for semi-skilled, ₹650 a day for skilled and ₹693 a day for highly skilled work, including VDA. The same four rates apply to all 29 scheduled employments under notification No.LE&SD.9/2023/Pt/33 dated 8 October 2026.

What is the monthly minimum wage in Meghalaya?

The notification fixes only daily rates, and says they already include pay for the weekly day of rest. Multiplied by 26 working days, the unskilled rate gives ₹14,664 a month. Most payroll trackers multiply by 30 and quote ₹16,920, which keeps you clearly on the safe side. Skilled workers get ₹16,900 (×26) or ₹19,500 (×30).

Is the minimum wage the same for shops, construction and domestic workers in Meghalaya?

Yes. Unlike most states, Meghalaya applies one set of four skill-based rates to all 29 scheduled employments — shops and establishments, construction, hotels, security guards, domestic workers, agriculture, mines and the rest. What changes is the skill grade of each worker, not the employment.

When will Meghalaya revise the minimum wage again?

The notification says VDA will be revised every six months. In practice Meghalaya revised rates once a year recently — from 1 April 2025 and 1 April 2026 — with no October 2025 revision, but it did issue an October 2026 revision (notification No.LE&SD.9/2023/Pt/33 dated 8 October 2026, effective 1 October 2026). The next revision is due from 1 April 2027.

Do central minimum wages apply in Shillong?

Only for central-sphere work — central government offices, banks, railways, the airport, central PSUs and their contractors. Shillong is in Area B of the central list, so unskilled construction, sweeping and cleaning pays ₹704 a day from 1 October 2026. The rest of Meghalaya is Area C, at ₹565.

What is the overtime rate in Meghalaya?

Double the ordinary rate, as both the notification and the Code on Wages say. Normal hours are 8 a day and 48 a week. For an unskilled worker on ₹564 a day, the ordinary hourly rate is ₹70.50, so each overtime hour is worth ₹141.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 19 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.Notification No.LE&SD.9/2023/Pt/33 dated 8 October 2026 (rates w.e.f. 1 October 2026) — Department of Labour, Employment & Skill Development, Government of Meghalaya (published on meglc.gov.in) · accessed 19 October 2026
2. 2.Gazette of Meghalaya, Part IIA, 25 June 2026 — Notification No.LE&SD.9/2023/Pt/26 dated 1 May 2026 (rates w.e.f. 1 April 2026, now superseded) — Department of Labour, Employment & Skill Development, Government of Meghalaya (Gazette, Printing & Stationery Dept) · accessed 12 October 2026
3. 3.Gazette of Meghalaya Extraordinary No.111, 4 August 2025 — Notification No.LE&SD.9/2023/Pt/14 dated 21 July 2025 (rates w.e.f. 1 April 2025) — Department of Labour, Employment & Skill Development, Government of Meghalaya · accessed 12 October 2026
4. 4.Gazette of Meghalaya Extraordinary No.225, 9 December 2024 — Notification No.LE&SD.9/2023/Pt/5 dated 3 December 2024 (rates w.e.f. 1 October 2024) — Department of Labour, Employment & Skill Development, Government of Meghalaya · accessed 12 October 2026
5. 5.Gazette of Meghalaya, Part IIA, 12 February 2026 — draft Code on Wages Meghalaya Rules, 2024 (No.LE&SD.39/2024/128 dated 21 November 2025) — Department of Labour, Employment & Skill Development, Government of Meghalaya · accessed 12 October 2026
6. 6.Meghalaya State Portal — Notification LE&SD.9/2023/Pt/5 (Revised rates of minimum wages) — Government of Meghalaya · accessed 12 October 2026
7. 7.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
8. 8.The Code on Wages, 2019 (No. 29 of 2019) — India Code, Legislative Department · accessed 12 October 2026
9. 9.Government announces implementation of the four Labour Codes (21 Nov 2025) — PIB — Ministry of Labour & Employment · accessed 12 October 2026
10. 10.Revision of minimum wages – Meghalaya – 010526 — AscentHR · accessed 12 October 2026