Amid opposition from the industry to the proposed increase in minimum wages, which is being seen as labour friendly in the time of price rise, consultation over minimum wage fixation in the State commenced on Tuesday before the final notification is to be issued.
The Labour Department this April issued draft notification for fixing monthly minimum wages to 80 scheduled employment in the State. The proposed monthly minimum wage ranges from ₹19,319.36 for unskilled labourers to a maximum of ₹34,225.42 for highly skilled labour.
With the tripartite discussion remaining inconclusive on Tuesday, the State Minimum Wages Board will reconvene on August 28 to consider the arguments put forth by industry representatives and trade unions.
Though the Joint Committee of Trade Unions (JCTU), representing eight trade unions in Karnataka, welcomed the government’s decision to revise minimum wages based on Supreme Court norms, in its memorandum to the board it has taken exception to the department considering 2023 as the base year for calculating minimum wages instead of 2025 that could reflect current reality and market prices.
“There is a wage disparity and discrimination in certain scheduled employments. An unskilled worker in garment industry gets paid 40% lower in comparison to an unskilled worker in automobile sector. The draft notification continues the historical legacy of discrimination against the workers employed in beedi, plantation, and garment sectors,” All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) State secretary M. Satyanand said, adding that there is a gender bias in revision of minimum wages with women-dominated sectors such as beedi work, cashew processing, agarbathi manufacturing, garment work and plantations.
