Yogi government heard 22 workers for 2 hours before signing off on wage hike

* Five hours of deliberations and calculations with experts.

It was this series of meetings, lasting seven hours, that led to the Uttar Pradesh government taking a late-night decision to announce an “interim” zone-specific minimum wage hike, based on a formula that took into account the 2014 Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the current CPI. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath approved the decision around 12.30 am on Tuesday, highly placed sources told The Indian Express.

This comes against the backdrop of violent protests by workers demanding better wages that rocked several pockets of Noida on Monday.

During the protests in Noida, Monday. (Express Photo)

According to sources, in light of the upcoming state polls next year, the UP government was already considering setting zone-based minimum wages following the formation of a new Wage Board next month.

But a 35% minimum wage hike announced by Haryana on April 9, followed by the Noida unrest, forced the state government to come out with an “interim” late-night solution. This was suggested by a high-level committee, led by Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner Deepak Kumar, which was formed to mediate between workers and industries.

Senior officials involved in the decision-making told The Indian Express that soon after the committee reached Greater Noida around 5 pm on Monday, they engaged in deliberations with 22 workers from different industries and factories. In the next meeting with industrialists, the impact of geopolitical uncertainties was raised. Taking all this into account, the need for an “interim solution” was felt, sources said.

Police personnel resort to a lathi charge on protesters demanding a salary hike, in Noida. (Source: PTI Photo)

To arrive at a formula for the interim solution, sources said the CPI of Gurgaon and Noida were compared. It emerged that the CPI of Noida was lower than that of Gurgaon. Thus, the hike could not be similar to that of Gurgaon, sources said.

After consulting experts, it was decided to devise a formula using the 2014 CPI as the base and comparing it with the current index, ultimately resulting in a 21% hike in Gautam Budh Nagar, where Noida is situated, and Ghaziabad.

Noida: Factory workers during a protest demanding a hike in wages. (PTI Photo)

While minimum wages are currently set twice a year in UP and are uniform across regions, this hike was different:

* For Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad, a 21% hike. The minimum wage for unskilled labourers has been hiked from Rs 11,313 to Rs 13,690; from Rs 12,455 to Rs 15,059 for the semi-skilled; and from Rs 13,940 to Rs 16,868 for skilled workers in the two regions.

* For 16 districts having a municipal corporation, a 15% hike. These include Agra, Aligarh, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Moradabad, Prayagraj, Saharanpur, Shahjahanpur, Firozabad, Mathura, Ayodhya, Jhansi, and Varanasi. The interim minimum wage would now be Rs 12,356 for unskilled, Rs 13,591 for semi-skilled, and Rs 15,224 for skilled workers.

* For the remaining 57 districts in the state, a 9% hike. These include districts like Amethi, Amroha, Banda, Ghazipur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Rae Bareli, Shravasti, Sonbhadra, Pilibhit, Mainpuri, Etawah, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Sultanpur, Unnao, Azamgarh, Ambedkarnagar, Bahraich, Chandauli, etc. For these districts, the interim hike would be Rs 12,356 for unskilled, Rs 13,591 for semi-skilled, and Rs 15,224 for skilled workers.

“The formation of the Wage Board was long overdue; it was to be done next month. We were already contemplating introducing a zone-based minimum wage system in UP as well, like in some other states. But the April 9 hike of 33% announced by Haryana for Gurgaon, followed by the unrest in Noida, triggered the decision to come out with an interim hike,” said a senior officer.

“One of the major concerns of labourers was the cost of living, but this would not be the same across districts, like those in far-off Eastern UP,” explained the officer.