This page shows the current applicable minimum wage for workers employed in brick kilns in Jammu and Kashmir, set out by skill category so employers and workers can check the correct rate at a glance. Use it to confirm what a moulder, loader, fireman or helper must be paid under the Jammu and Kashmir notification.
Minimum wage rates for Brick Kilns in Jammu and Kashmir
| Category of worker | Per day | Per month (26 days) |
|---|---|---|
| Unskilled | ₹311 | ₹8,086 |
| Semi-skilled | ₹400 | ₹10,400 |
| Skilled | ₹483 | ₹12,558 |
| Highly-skilled | ₹552 | ₹14,352 |
| Administrative / ministerial / accounts | ₹449 | ₹11,674 |
Rates effective 17 October 2022.
What counts as Brick Kilns
Brick kilns is the scheduled employment covering the manufacture of burnt clay bricks, tiles and similar earthenware, spanning the full cycle from digging and tempering clay, moulding and sun-drying green bricks, loading and firing them in the kiln, to unloading and stacking the finished bricks. It applies to workers engaged inside kiln premises and in the attached moulding yards, whether paid by time or by piece.
- Bull's Trench Kiln (BTK) units
- Fixed-chimney and zig-zag brick kilns
- Clamp and country brick-making yards
- Fly-ash and cement brick manufacturing units
- Roofing-tile and hollow-block kilns
- Brick fields and clay moulding yards (bhatta)
- Downdraft and Hoffman-type kilns
Typical roles and skill categories
- Clay digger and earth cutter
- Pugging, tempering and clay-mixing worker
- Brick moulder (pathera)
- Green-brick carrier and drying-yard stacker
- Kiln loader and setter (bharaiwala)
- Fireman and fire master (jalaiwala)
- Coal breaker and fuel feeder
- Unloader and remover of fired bricks (nikasiwala)
- Munshi, jamadar or kiln supervisor
In brick-kiln work the categories usually map by the craft and risk involved: unskilled covers clay diggers, water carriers, green-brick carriers and general helpers; semi-skilled covers moulders (patheras), loaders and drying-yard stackers; skilled covers firemen and kiln setters who control the firing. Highly-skilled typically covers the head fireman or kiln master and technical supervisors responsible for the firing schedule and output.
Who fixes this wage
Brick kilns is a notified scheduled employment for which the Jammu and Kashmir government fixes and revises minimum wages by skill category, and commonly by geographical zone or area classification. Every worker engaged in or around a brick kiln in Jammu and Kashmir, including piece-rated and seasonal migrant workers, is entitled to at least the wage notified for the applicable category.
How Jammu and Kashmir sets minimum wages
Jammu and Kashmir operates one statewide schedule without zonal divisions, setting rates for five categories of worker as both a daily amount and a monthly amount on a 26-day basis. Unlike states on a half-yearly cycle, its rates have stood since taking effect on 17 October 2022 and are not adjusted through a variable dearness allowance. Any change here comes through a fresh notification rather than automatic indexation.
Common questions
What is the current minimum wage for Brick Kilns in Jammu and Kashmir?
In Jammu and Kashmir, the minimum wage for Brick Kilns currently runs from about ₹311 to ₹552 per day and ₹8086 to ₹14352 per month, depending on skill category and zone, effective 17 October 2022. The exact figure by category is in the table below. Confirm the exact rate for your worker's skill category and zone in the table above, and against the latest official notification.
Are piece-rate brick moulders in Jammu and Kashmir covered by minimum wage?
Yes. Even where moulders and other workers are paid by the thousand bricks or on any other piece-rate basis, their total earnings for a normal working period must not fall below the minimum wage notified for the applicable category in Jammu and Kashmir.
Does the brick-kiln minimum wage change from one part of Jammu and Kashmir to another?
Often it does. Many notifications fix rates by zone or area classification, so the same role at a kiln can attract a different notified wage depending on where in Jammu and Kashmir the kiln is located; always check the rate for the kiln's own zone.
Are seasonal and migrant brick-kiln workers entitled to the Jammu and Kashmir minimum wage?
Yes. Workers brought in for the firing season, including inter-state migrant families engaged as moulders, loaders or firemen, are entitled to the minimum wage notified for their category in Jammu and Kashmir, regardless of their home state or the seasonal nature of the engagement.
Never underpay in Jammu and Kashmir
ZeniaHR maps every worker to the correct minimum-wage notification by state, skill and zone, and flags anyone paid below it.
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