NEW DELHI: The government may raise the minimum wages in the country by
as much as 25% and also make them binding on all states, a move aimed at
improving the lifestyle of the poor and giving an indirect boost to the
rural economy.
A senior government official told ET that the labour ministry is considering
three groups for states and union territories based on the per capita income
and minimum wages for the unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled category of
workers in each of the provinces.
The ministry recently increased the National Floor Level Minimum Wage to
Rs 160 per day from Rs 137, with effect from July. This translates into a
monthly salary of Rs 4,800 for an unskilled worker, but is only advisory
and is not mandatory for states to follow. As a result, wages are very
low in some states leading to unrest among workers.
According
to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the classification
and the changes to make the wage levels binding on states would require
amendment to the Minimum Wage Act, 1948. "We are working on a formula
to arrive at minimum wages for unskilled workers. This could go up to
one-and-half times in semi-skilled category and may be two times for
skilled workers in that state," the official said, adding that the
wages would be revised at regular intervals.
A back of the envelope calculation suggest that states like Goa, Delhi,
Sikkim, Chandigarh, Pondicherry and Maharashtra, with highest per capita
income in the country, would be the first category where minimum wage for
the unskilled would be in the range of Rs 8,000 - Rs 9,000.
For states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Assam and Jharkhand,
with least per capita income, the minimum wage could be around Rs 6,000 a
month, an increase of 25% based on the recently raised National
Floor Level Minimum Wage. Going by this, minimum wages would range
between Rs 9,000 and Rs 12,000 for semi-skilled and skilled workers in
poor states and between Rs 12,000 and Rs 16,000 in rich states. The
Centre hopes revising the wage rate will help the government, as the step
will give room to cut expenditure on social sector programmes and
generate demand in the economy. It could also help ensure that workers
stick to a job and not switch over in lieu of differential wages.
"Most importantly, unskilled workers may get motivated to move
into semi-skilled and skilled category for a better lifestyle once the
fixed wages are in place," the official added. The move may,
however, not go down well with trade unions which have been demanding a
minimum wage of Rs 15,000 a month, a level the government feels is
unrealistic and could act as a deterrent for employers. Minimum
daily wages vary widely from state to state: In Haryana, the wage for the
highest skilled worker is Rs 241.90, while in
Bihar, which supplies the largest number of migrant workers, wages range
from Rs 288 for workers in engineering workshops to Rs 205 for those on
clerical jobs.
In Nagaland, the best daily rate is Rs 110. In Tamil Nadu,
laundry workers and those in dangerous occupations get Rs 346.20, but
most others draw less than Rs 300.
Source :http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
