ADVISORY BOARD :

The advisory board is constituted under Section 7 of the Act by the appropriate Government for the purpose of co-ordinating the work of committees and sub-committees appointed under Section 5 of the Act and advising the appropriate Government generally in the matter of fixing and revising of minimum rates of wages. According to Section 9 of the Act, the advisory board shall consist of persons to be nominated by the appropriate Government representing employers and employees in the scheduled employment who shall be equal in number, and independent persons not exceeding 1/3rd of its total number of members, one of such independent persons shall be appointed as the Chairman by the appropriate Government.

It is not necessary that the Board shall consist of representatives of any particular industry or of each and every scheduled employment; B.Y. Kashatriya v. S.A.T. Bidi Kamgar Union A.I.R. (1963) S.C. 806. An independent person in the context of Section 9 means a person who is neither an employer nor an employee in the employment for which the minimum wages are to be fixed. In the case of State of Rajasthan v. Hari Ram Nathwani, (1975) SCC 356, it was held that the mere fact that a person happens to be a Government servant will not divert him of the character of the independent person.