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LG Vinai Saxena approves minimum wage hike for Ladakh workers
According to the official release, the move will benefit thousands of workers who have been earning as little as ₹300 to ₹500 per month for several years.
Ladakh lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has approved a hike in wages of daily, part-time, seasonal and need-based workers engaged by the administration to ₹575 per day from ₹450 per day, officials said.
According to the official release, the move will benefit thousands of workers who have been earning as little as ₹300 to ₹500 per month for several years.
Many of them have been working for more than 10 to 15 years for such low wages.
The revised wages have been rationalised as per the Centre’s Minimum Wages Act.
Under the new wage rationalisation framework, the workers will be categorised into ‘unskilled’ and ‘skilled’ workers.
According to the new wage matrix, the skilled workers will be paid wages at the rate of ₹575 per day, while unskilled workers will be paid at the rate of ₹450 per day. The revised wages will be determined on a pro-rata basis, depending on their duty hours and the nature of work.
“This will result in a manifold increase in the wages of these workers and thus bring a major relief for such wage earners, who have been working as sweepers, gardeners, cleaners, etc, in Ladakh,” the release added.
The decision comes after repeated representations by daily wagers engaged across different departments of the administration.
Saxena said the Union Territory administration is committed to ensuring fair and dignified wages for all workers, particularly those serving in remote and challenging regions of Ladakh.
“Every worker deserves fair compensation for their labour and the administration would do everything required for their welfare, in a transparent and accountable manner,” Saxena said. He added that the revised wages will be paid strictly through direct benefit transfer (DBT).
