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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Indian Workers on Starvation Wage -Subodh Varma

Indian Workers on Starvation Wage -Subodh Varma

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published Published on Aug 6, 2018   modified Modified on Aug 6, 2018
-Newsclick.in

By all accepted standards, the official minimum wages in states are just enough to keep the worker alive. What they actually get is even less.

Minimum wages of industrial workers in India are less than half of what a justifiable calculation – based on minimum calorific intake and the barest minimum of other expenses – suggests. While the central govt. using a well-accepted standard formula provides Rs.18,000 per month to its lowest rung unskilled worker, their counterparts in private industry are officially supposed to get anything between Rs.6000 to Rs.10,000 monthly. Out of 21 major states with significant industrial employment, 17 states officially fix minimum wages at less than half of the central govt.’s lowest wage. Labour is a concurrent subject in India and hence state govts. have the right to fix wages.

This is of course, only part of the story. In reality, most workers do not even get the prescribed minimum wages. They are given anything between 50% to 75% of the statutory levels. Since enforcement machinery – labour departments with their inspectors and courts – have been hollowed out over the years, there is no enforcement and flagrant violation.

How much wage does a worker need?

Way back in 1948, British nutritionist Wallace R. Ayckroyd defined the food requirement for an Indian worker doing moderate activity as a minimum of 2700 kCal per day, including 65 g of protein and 45-60 g of fat. Nine years later, at the 15thIndian Labour Conference (ILC), this was accepted as the basis for calculating the minimum wage needed to sustain a worker and his family.

The ILC laid down that retail prices of a mix of various food types (pulses, cereal, vegetables, oil/fat etc.) should be collected to arrive at quantities and costs of food for a worker. In addition, 18 yards of cloth (with washing costs), 7.5% of the cost so reached for housing rent and 20% for fuel, lighting etc. should be added.

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Newsclick.in, 4 August, 2018, https://newsclick.in/indian-workers-starvation-wage


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