Delhi government hikes minimum wages by up to ₹500 for all workers

As per the revised rates, the minimum wage for unskilled workers has increased from ₹18,066 per month to ₹18,456.

The Delhi government on Tuesday announced a rise in minimum wages for all workers in the city by up to ₹500. The new wages will be applicable with effect from April 1.

A labourer stacks bricks on his head at the construction site. (Reuters File Photo)

As per the revised rates, the minimum wage for unskilled workers has increased from ₹18,066 per month to ₹18,456, from ₹19,929 to ₹ 20,371 for semi-skilled workers, and from ₹22,411 to ₹21,917 for skilled workers. Similarly, the wages per month for non-matriculate workers has been increased from ₹19,929 to ₹ 20,371; matriculate but no graduate workers from ₹21,917 to ₹22,411 and from ₹23,836 to ₹24,356 for graduates and above.

In an order issued on Tuesday, joint labour commissioner KM Singh said anyone who is paid less than the minimum rates of wages can file their claim before the joint labour commissioner and deputy labour commissioner of the district who are notified as authority under the Minimum Wages Act. “This increase in wages will not only neutralise the inflation rate but also provide relief to a large number of workers working in Delhi,” the order mentioned.

Notably, the minimum wages in Delhi were last increased on October 1 last year.

The increase in minimum wages had been a key thrust of the Aam Aadmi Party-led previous Delhi government which had claimed that the capital had the highest minimum wages in the country. The AAP had claimed that minimum wages for unskilled workers in Delhi was more than ₹18,000, while in Rajasthan, it was ₹8,063, ₹10,000 in Madhya Pradesh, ₹8,300 in Uttar Pradesh, ₹10,000 in Haryana, and ₹10,900 in Chhattisgarh.