‘My salary increased by Rs 39 last year’: Why Noida export workers feel helpless

Salaries of workers in Manesar in Haryana had been increased to Rs 20,000 for eight hours of work, Kashyap said – “so why not our salaries?”

“I earn Rs 13,000, pay a rent of Rs 4,000… A kilogram of gas now costs Rs 400, how can we manage?” he asked.

(Left to right) Surender Kashyap, Muhammad Noor Alam, Rahul. (Drishti Jain)

His employer sets workers a target of 70 pieces an hour, he alleged, and “if we don’t supply, they humiliate us.”

“My wages increased by a mere Rs 320… They force us to work at night. If we are unwell, they say don’t come next time. If we refuse to work on Sundays, they threaten to fire us,” Kashyap said.

A company spokesperson said workers were paid minimum wages decided by the government. “The trigger for this protest was the 35% increase in wages announced by the Haryana government. Nobody is paid less than Rs 20-25,000 a month which includes overtime. We value our workers. If the government decides to increase wages, we’ll abide by it, but it will be an enormous burden on us,” the spokesperson said.

Rahul (25)
Worker in a company that makes clothes for export
Home town: Kannauj, UP

Rahul said he has been working since 2018, and is married with two children of ages 3 and 1.

“I earn Rs 13,500 — I save nothing and I can’t send any money home. I pay Rs 5,000 rent for my room, and spend Rs 4,000 on rations. How can I manage with this income? How will I send my children to school?” Rahul said.

“Last year, my salary was increased by just Rs 39. The company HR just doesn’t listen to us,” he said.

Mohd Noor Alam (28)
Does kaarigari work on clothes
Home town: Sitamarhi, Bihar

“I earn Rs 20,000 but I can’t save anything; I can’t send a single paisa to my mother. Everything is so expensive,” Alam said.

“A gas cylinder costs Rs 5,000 in the black market. Even if the LPG problem is because of the war, what about the prices of other things, which have been going up too,” he asked.

People are being forced to go to bed hungry. “If prices of basic things are up by Rs 100, our pay should be increased by Rs 120… Why is this not happening, do we not work,” he said.

Factory workers during a protest demanding a hike in wages, in Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh. (PTI Photo)

Babita Devi (30)
Does meter-fitting work at LAN Engineering and Technologies
Home town: Chhapra, Bihar

Babita, who has polio, was sitting on the pavement outside the Motherson factory waiting for her son who she said had been detained by police. “I went to the hospital in the morning… I have been begging them to let my son go,” she said.

Babita said she is paid Rs 8,000 for working from 9 am to 5 pm; and Rs 10,000 if she works overtime. “We are a family of eight including my husband and six children. We pay a rent of Rs 12,000 every month. How can we survive like this?” she said.