Days after Labour Minister Gopal Rai made a promise to representatives of workers’ unions, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s move to increase minimum wages in the Capital by 47 per cent is expected to materialise this week.
An announcement to this effect was made by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the Delhi government’s Independence Day celebration program at the Chhatrasal Stadium on Monday followed by a confirmation by Mr. Rai on Twitter.
A senior government official said that a proposal to increase minimum wages for unskilled labourers from Rs. 9,568 to Rs. 14,052, for semi-skilled from Rs. 10,582 to Rs. 15,471 and for skilled labourers from Rs.11,622 to Rs. 17,033 will be tabled at a meeting of the Delhi Cabinet later this week where it is expected to receive an unconditional go-ahead.
Follow our lead: Kejriwal urges PM Mod i
Making his announcement, Mr. Kejriwal urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow AAP’s lead in this respect.
Mr. Rai, last Thursday, had met with representatives of various labour and workers’ unions with the assurance that the AAP government was in favour of the proposed hike.
A 13-member tripartite body of employee representatives and employers’ representatives, government representatives and officers headed by Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Labour) had submitted its report to the Labour Minister earlier.
This was followed by an announcement by Mr. Rai that the report would be put up to Mr. Kejriwal for his nod.
Last week, representatives from various trade and business associations of Delhi had also met with Mr. Rai and submitted their recommendations on the issue of minimum wages.
They presented the Labour Minister with their petition where they sought a 30 to 40 per cent hike in minimum wages.
The report stated that the cost of living in Delhi was much higher than in other States and it is difficult to survive on the current wage rate.
