Following the directions of lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung, the Delhi Government has sent files setting up a new committee pertaining to increase in minimum wages of labourers to Raj Niwas for reconsideration.
Delhi labour Minister Gopal Rai has also met the l-G on Friday morning and it was agreed that a proposal for constitution of a legally valid committee would be set up.
Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the l-G had returned the Delhi Government’s file on hiking minimum wages in the city highlighting the escalating tension between the two sides. “On a day when 18 crore workers are on strike, Modi’s l-G returns file on minimum wages,” Kejriwal tweeted.
In a related development, Delhi labour Minister Gopal Rai met the l-G on Friday morning to discuss issues related to minimum wages. “In meeting, I requested the l-G to give his post facto approval to the Government-appointed minimum wages fixation committee as he has done the same in several cases in past. The l-G did not relent and has declared this committee “illegal. On the l-G’s advice, we have sent file pertaining to formation of new committee. If the l-G gives his approval, the new committee will give recommendation on revision of minimum wages,” the labour Minister said.
In April, Rai had formed a 13-member committee on revision of minimum wages in Delhi and last month, committee had recommended about 50 per cent hike in minimum wages for all category -unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled.
Jung in its note to the labour Minister has made it clear that he agrees in principal with the need to increase the minimum rate of wages as this would benefit the poor and working class. “However the present proposal suffers from serious legal infirmity. The tripartite committee whose recommendation formed the basis of the present proposal has not been constituted with my approval as required under the Act. This may lead to litigation and the final notification for increase of wages is liable to be quashed on this ground.
“Many other notifications issued by the Delhi Government have already been quashed by the High Court and related cases vide its judgement dated August 4, 2016. Therefore, it is important that the process followed in this case for enhancement of wages be legally sound,” Jung said in its note.
According to sources, after the l-G’s order, the Government has agreed to reconstitute the tripartite committee for recommendations of enhancement of minimum wages.
It is noted that the Delhi Government had announced an over 40 per cent increase in minimum wages last month and had sent the file to the l-G on August 24. After the Cabinet’s approval the minimum wages in Delhi for unskilled workers will increase from Rs 9,568 to Rs 14,052 per month, while for semi-skilled workers it will rise from Rs 10,582 to Rs 15,471, and skilled workers from Rs 11,622 to Rs 17,033. Subsequently, the Government claimed that the l-G had been “sitting over the file” which prevented it from implementing the new wages.
The Government’s decision to hike minimum wages had met with resistance from traders and industrialists, saying that Delhi had already the highest minimum wages in the country and the new proposal would make it impractical for them to carry out business in the Capital.
The CM, however, has refused to bow to pressure and said despite the initial problems that the industry may face, the new wage structure would only serve to improve economy in the long run.