Wage protests turn violent, spread across NCR
Protests by factory workers demanding wage hike in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday spread to adjoining States and turned violent with incidents of vandalism, stone pelting and arson being reported.
According to officials, workers from several factories had gathered to press for salary hikes and improved working conditions, but the demonstration spiraled into violence.
A worker, Akshay, said companies in Gurugram have started paying their workers INR 20,000 a month. “We are getting INR 10,000 and sometimes INR 1,000 gets deducted,” he said.
Protests were reported from the Phase-2 and Sector 60 areas of Noida and Sector 38 of Faridabad, leading to road blocks and a long jam on the highways, including the Delhi-Meerut Expressway. Protesters created a massive ruckus at Vipul Motors, an authorised Maruti Suzuki service centre, located in Sector 63 of Noida. Similar protests were also reported from Sector 62 and Sector 84, including at a Motherson company unit. Protesters also blocked the National Highway 9 — close to the Ghaziabad border and a key route connecting Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh.
The violence paralysed traffic, leaving thousands of commuters stranded on different roads leading to Delhi during the morning rush hour. Long queues of vehicles stretching for several kilometres were seen at the Delhi-Noida border.
Following the protests, the UP labour department has formed a committee to resolve industrial discord. The committee will include five representatives from labour unions and three representatives from entrepreneurs’ associations. The Industrial Development Commissioner will serve as the chairman of the committee. The Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and the Principal Secretary for Labour and Employment will serve as members of the committee.
Addressing a gathering at Muzzaffarnagar, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath said the ongoing labour protest in Noida was part of a conspiracy aimed at disturbing the state’s growth and development agenda. Asserting that he stands firmly with the workers, UP CM also asked them to “be wary of those who incite unrest, do not let them succeed”.
Uttar Pradesh director general of police (DGP) Rajeev Krishna on Monday said police are identifying elements who allegedly instigated violence during workers’ protests in Noida and warned that strict action will be taken against them.
In a brief update, the DGP said “provocative elements” and “external elements” involved in the unrest are being traced. Meanwhile, Noida Police have registered an FIR against Congress Social Media Coordinators Mir Ilyas and Anushi Tiwari for claiming on their X account that 14 people had died and 32 were injured. Officials said the DGP, along with senior officers, including Additional Director General (Law and Order) Amitabh Yash, were monitoring the situation in Noida from the police headquarters control room.
The violence erupted a day after the UP Government announced a series of measures aimed at strengthening labour welfare, including mandatory double overtime pay, timely wages and weekly offs for workers in Gautam Buddha Nagar.
District Magistrate Medha Roopam on Sunday held meetings with representatives of industrial units and issued key directives to safeguard workers’ rights. She directed that workers willing to continue their jobs should not face any inconvenience and asked managements to maintain dialogue with employees in line with government norms.
The administration also directed industrial units to ensure CCTV cameras at factory gates remain functional and set up a control room to address workers’ grievances and maintain law and order.
