Even as the Karnataka government notified the final revised minimum wages for the scheduled employment on Friday, revision for 19 sectors – including those for garment, beedi and plantation workers – is yet to happen.

The minimum wages for 65 scheduled employments, including four in hazardous ones, have now been revised and fixed. In addition, for the first time, 18 employments – including non-teaching staff in educational institutions, employees of e-commerce and courier companies, and office staff of religious and social institutions such as temples, mutts, churches, mosques, and gurdwara – have been brought under the minimum wage.

Range of revision

The final notification, which was available on Saturday, shows that the minimum wages for these 83 scheduled employments range from ₹21,251 per month for unskilled worker in Zone 3 to ₹34,225 per month for the highly skilled worker in Zone 1, which is the Greater Bengaluru Area (GBA) region.

The revision is expected to help over one crore employees in the State. The 19 employments that have remained outside the minimum wage revision have more than 10 lakh workers,

Missed opportunity

The 19 scheduled employments, considered “piece work” in nature or labour intensive, kept out of this revision cycle include handloom and powerloom workers, agarbathi rolling, agriculture and allied work, brick work, rubber, tea and coffee plantation workers, besides workers in the garment sector.

“Historically, beedi, plantation and garment factory workers have received lower wages. In fact, when a random revision of minimum wages was announced for garment workforce in January 2023, the revised wages was less than the minimum wages fixed for other employments in 2017. This is not only wage disparity, but also gender discrimination since garment factory workforce is predominantly women,” said K. Maitreyi, State Secretary of All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU).

According to Labour Department officials, individual committees will be set up for each of 19 employments that will recommend wage revision directly to the government. “They will not come under Minimum Wage Advisory Board. While some committees are in the process of finalising minimum wages, some are yet to be set up.”

Expressing frustration, president of Garments and Textile Workers’ Union (GATWU) H.R. Prathiba said that fresh wages should be notified that are on a par with the revision done to other scheduled employment. “The State government is deliberately discriminating against employments where women are dominant in the work force,” she alleged.

Protest withdrawn

Meanwhile, welcoming the final notification, the Joint Committee of Trade Unions (JCTU), an umbrella organisation for 11 trade unions in Karnataka, has announced withdrawal of agitation announced for May 27. “Retrospective implementation of minimum wages from 2022 is the need of the hour as the real wage of the workers has eroded due to non-revision of wages since 2017,” the JCTU said.

It further said that despite this revision, more than 10 lakh workers in garment, beedi and plantation sectors have been left out of the notification. “The employers lobby has indulged in fear mongering with wild claims of flight of capital to delay the minimum wage revision process. The same claims had been made in 2017-2028 when a similar revision of 70%  was implemented. The increase in minimum wages will provide boost to the economy of the State.”

Employers may approach court

Employers, who were taken by surprise with the final notification of minimum wage for scheduled employment, are likely to go to court. According to B.C. Prabhakar, president of Karnataka Employers’ Association, the final notification violated Karnataka High Court direction and also the rule of law.

“We had opposed the minimum wage revision since it makes the operations unviable due to very high wage. Besides it could reduce flow of investments. With the four Industrial Codes coming into force, this notification based on Minimum Wages Act, 1948, is void. We will approach the court,” he said. A number of employers are likely to meet on Monday to decide on future course of action.