The AAP Government has directed the labour Department to prepare a policy for contract labourers. The Heads of Departments (HoDs) have been told to ensure that workers must get minimum wages. In place of technical revision of minimum wages, which had been happening so far, the new policy will emphasise on how much wages will be sufficient for leading a decent life in Delhi.
Also, the Government has decided that the contractors who don’t pay minimum wages would be blacklisted. Performance appraisal of the present labour contractors would also be done. The Government has been receiving complaints that many contractors keep the ATM cards of the labourers and unauthorisedly withdraw part of the cash which should be paid to labourers. Several other similar anti-labour measures are being resorted to by some contractors. The Government has also decided to look into such complaints seriously.
It is noted that the Delhi Government had earlier hiked the minimum wages of workers in the unorganised sector in April this year. Minimum wage of unskilled workers was raised from Rs8,632 to Rs9,048.
Similarly wages of semi-skilled, skilled and graduate workers were increased from Rs9,542, Rs10,478 and Rs11,414 to Rs10,010, Rs10,998 and Rs11,986, respectively.