Centre raises minimum wage to preempt trade unions strike
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday also announced that Central Government employee will get their two years bonus, which has been pending for some time now.
The Union Government of India, in its attempt to dissuade trade unions from going ahead with the proposed mass strike this Friday, has accepted the advisory board recommendations and raised the minimum wage from Rs 246 to Rs 350 per day for non-agricultural workers.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday also announced that Central Government employees will get their two years bonus, which has been pending for some time now. The Centre has decided to write to all states regarding compliance of contract workers law, Jaitley added.
The likely financial implications of the bonus move translate into Rs 1,920 crore per annum. “In the last one and a half years, the inter-ministerial committee had met with central trade unions. Trade unions placed various demands. Some were labour related and some economic policy issues related. The government has taken some decisions with regard to those on the basis of their recommendations,” added Jaitley.
Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal and Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya were also present. Jaitley said it has been decided to fix the minimum wages at Rs 350 per day for unskilled non-agricultural workers for ‘C’ category areas keeping in view the modalities of fixing minimum wages.
The decision was taken following deliberations at the meeting of the Minimum Wage Advisory Board under the chairmanship of the labour minister for revising the basic minimum wages in the central sphere.
The registration of the contract workers and their staffing agencies is mandatory and states will be advised to strictly implement the same, the finance minister said. Errant contractors will face appropriate action for any violation, he warned.
The issue of giving social security benefit to the unorganised sector (like Anganwadi, mid-day meal, Asha volunteers) will be examined by a committee which will give its report at the “earliest”.
Asked about the strike call, Jaitley said: “I think we have responsible trade unions.” On the opposition to the government’s plans to merge associate banks of SBI with the parent bank, Jaitley said “the merger is not subject of trade unions”.
“Their service conditions are not being hurt adversely or affected at all. There will be no impact of merger on service conditions of any employee. If government decides that we need strong banks, then unions would have to change their approach to the whole issue,” he asserted.
Dattatreya has held meetings with central trade unions wherein detailed discussions were held with regard to their charter of demands.
The issues have been taken up by inter-ministerial committee headed by the finance minister. As many as 10 central trade unions have given a call for a one-day pan-India strike on September 2, 2016, to protest against the government’s labour reforms and “not paying heed to their demands”.
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an emergency meeting, in which the Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattareya was also present, to decide on the Centre’s plan of action to preempt the trade strike called by agitating union workers.
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