Salaries of MPs, MLAs and bureaucrats have seen huge hikes recently but for Workers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), wages have remained static ever since the scheme was launched five years ago. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot recently announced a Diwali bonus for the government employees in the state. "For Diwali we have decided to give bonus equal to 30 days salary. This will cost us Rs. 223 crore...
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MNREGA Workers threaten to observe “Black Diwali”
The hopes of an early compliance to their demand of payment of minimum wages receding, the MNREGA Workers, who are on an indefinite dharna here, on Saturday threatened to observe a “Black Diwali” this season. The dharna, convened by the Suchana Evum Rogar Ka Adhikar Abhiyan, on its 29th day was attended by over 2,000 persons from 22 districts of Rajasthan. The Workers took out a rally in the evening demanding...
More »NREGA vs Minimum Wages Act by Sreelatha Menon
Can the government break its own laws? That seems to be the case when it comes to minimum wages in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), which makes the government the employer of the world’s largest workforce of close to 35 million job-card holders. In 19 states, the Workers are getting less than the minimum wages in their areas, with the rural development ministry and the labour ministry looking the...
More »Govt giving final touches to employment policy
With an eye on projected 2.5 per cent annual growth in the job sector, the government is in the process of giving final touches to a national policy to accelerate employment growth. The draft of the proposed National Employment Policy is likely to be placed before the Cabinet soon for its approval. In a statement, the Labour and Employment Ministry said the draft note has already been prepared. It was...
More »KV Thomas flayed for statement on Endosulfan
Union Minister of State for Agriculture K.V. Thomas' remarks here on Monday that an expert enquiry committee had not attributed any death from mysterious illnesses here to the aerial spraying of Endosulfan on the cashew estates of the Plantation Corporation of Kerala had invited widespread resentment here with Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) Workers burning him in effigy. Anti-Endosulfan Campaign Committee chairman Narayanan Periya decried the Minister's statement saying that...
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