As Delhi hikes minimum wage, trade unions urge other Indian states to follow
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
A “historic” move to raise the minimum wage of millions of Delhi’s poorest workers by almost 40 percent should be extended to other parts of the country to fight exploitation, trade unions and rights groups said on Tuesday.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi hiked the minimum wage rate for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers by 37 percent last month – making the capital the highest minimum wage provider to India’s working class population.
Activists said of India’s 36 states and union territories, Delhi was the only one to follow through on recommendations made by the labour ministry in 1957 and the Supreme Court in 1991 that states review minimum wage rates at least every five years.
“The Delhi government has shown the will to bring about a positive change in the lives of our workforce,” said Anurag Saxena from the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, a national movement with a membership of over three million workers.
Source: Reuters (link opens in a new window)
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