The recent Kerala government decision that revised the wages paid to prison inmates engaged in work across prisons in the State has drawn criticism from various quarters.
The government had on January 9 revised the wages of prison inmates after a gap of seven years. The move hikes daily earnings across skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled categories.
As per the revised structure, wages for skilled work have been increased to ₹620 per day, while semi-skilled and unskilled categories have been raised to ₹560 and ₹530 respectively. Prior to the revision, the minimum daily wage in prisons stood at ₹63 and the maximum at ₹168.
The decision has drawn flak, particularly since it comes in the run-up to the Assembly elections. Critics have also highlighted the disparity of wages provided to workers in other sectors.
However, officials of the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services maintain that this is the first revision since 2018, despite provisions in the Model Prison Manual of 2016 mandating wage revision every three years.
