Overview
- Punjab’s Assembly, which approved the hike Friday, cleared a 15% rise and the labour department notified new monthly floors of ₹13,486 to ₹16,601 effective May 1.
- Workers tell CNBCTV18 that after the hikes, factories are calling fewer people and using contractors, which makes incomes irregular and pushes some migrants to head home.
- Uttar Pradesh earlier raised Noida and Ghaziabad rates for unskilled workers to ₹13,693 after NCR factory protests over pay gaps with neighboring states.
- In Madhya Pradesh, thousands of outsourced workers in Bhopal demanded a ₹26,000 minimum and alleged many departments pay ₹3,000–₹8,000 in breach of official norms.
- Analysts and commentators urge district-level wage setting, tighter enforcement and help for small firms, citing 2021–2026 inflation of about 26.6% that has cut real earnings.