Indian employees of the US Embassy and consulates in India are being grossly underpaid in comparison to their American counterparts working in these missions, according to information made available to the Government.
Even as the External Affairs Ministry is awaiting details of Indian staff employed by the American diplomatic missions, some such current and former employees have come forward with details of their emoluments which are way below the wages being paid to American staff in similar positions.
In fact, in the case of some semi-skilled Indian staff, the wages may be below those prescribed under India's Minimum Wages Act. Information available to the Government shows that an Indian Visa Officer gets a salary of around Rs 17,000 per month as against about Rs 1.10 lakh for an American holding a similar position. One security guard gets Rs 8,000 per month for an eight-hour duty daily, which is again way below the Act.
Meanwhile, the special group, set up by the Foreign Secretary, met here for the first time to scrutinise the available information regarding the wages being paid to the Indian staff amid indications that these may be violative of the laws. The Group will now hold regular meetings.