A fact-finding team comprising former bureaucrats, journalists and lawyers has rejected claims that the recent labour unrest in Noida was the result of a “Pakistani conspiracy”, concluding instead that stagnant wages and wage disparities with neighbouring states were the primary triggers.
The team, constituted by democratic rights group Jan Hastakshep included Supreme Court senior advocate S.S. Nehra, former Hindu College professor Ish Mishra, retired IFS officer Ashok Sharma, senior journalist Anil Dubey, and senior advocate M.Z. Ali.
It visited Noida on April 24 and spoke to workers across multiple industrial units, shopkeepers and other affected residents.
According to the statement released by the team, investigators found no evidence to support allegations circulated by sections of the administration and media that foreign elements were behind the protests.
Instead, the team reported that workers’ anger had been building for years over low wages, rising inflation and comparisons with higher minimum wages in neighbouring Delhi and Haryana. Workers told the team that factories relocating from Delhi and Gurugram to Noida continued paying lower wages after shifting operations, despite higher pay scales prevailing in those regions.
The fact-finding group said dissatisfaction intensified after workers learned that wages at units in Haryana had increased significantly following a hike in minimum wages there.
This comparison, combined with stagnant wages in Noida for over a decade, reportedly triggered the initial sit-in protest at a garment manufacturing unit in Sector 83 earlier this month.
According to the statement, protests spread across industrial clusters in Sectors 59, 60, 62, 83 and 84, eventually drawing tens of thousands of workers onto the streets.
The team alleged that police action escalated tensions and that more than 1,000 workers were detained, with some families not informed of their whereabouts for several days.
The investigators noted that the state government’s subsequent actions, including issuing notices to 43 contractors, cancelling licences of 10 contractors and announcing a 21 per cent wage increase, indicated acknowledgement of irregularities in wage practices rather than evidence of any external conspiracy.
A trade union leader who had worked in a multinational company, stated that two decades ago, wages were not an issue in NOIDA and Greater NOIDA because wages here were higher than in other states. However, conditions have changed over the past 20 years.
While wages increased in Delhi and Haryana, they did not increase in Uttar Pradesh, and companies arbitrarily set their own minimum wages. This significantly increased exploitation. He added that most of NOIDA industries operate with contract labour, with companies hiring workers through contractors who provide no benefits.
The team concluded that the unrest reflected long-standing labour grievances rooted in wage stagnation and rising living costs, and called for implementation of revised minimum wages, linking wages to inflation, and withdrawal of cases against workers involved in the protests.
Published on April 28, 2026