THE storm of labour protests in April from Manesar, Haryana, to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand, reached almost all the Hindi heartland states. Thousands of contract workers from Panipat, Baroni, and Mathura refineries, from major refineries, steel plants, power and cement plants across the country revolted, exposing the poor working conditions of workers and the need for wage increases. In May, workers of hundreds of small and large companies went on strike, the number increasing daily, against low wages, no wage increases, and ongoing exploitation through collusion between the government and employers.

DETERMINING MINIMUM WAGES

The concept of minimum wages is based on the survival of the labour force and the smooth functioning of the production process. The formula for determining minimum wages in India was developed in the 15th Indian Labour Conference in 1957 based on the scientific standard proposed in 1948 by Dr. Vallance Akroyd, the first Director of the Nutrition Division at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation to determine the basic cost of living and minimum wages for workers in any country. It includes food and nutrition, based on the calories, protein, and other nutrients required by an average worker. For a balanced diet, a family of a husband, wife, and two children consists of three consumption units, each unit being 2700 calories of energy. The family also needs 5.8 meters of cloth per year, 10 per cent of the total amount for house rent, 20 per cent more for oil, electricity and other essential items and, as decided by the Supreme Court in 1992, another 25 per cent for children's education, health expenses, festivals, marriages and other events. Together, this determines the minimum wage.

THE NEED TO MODIFY THE ESTABLISHED FORMULA

In the current formula, the family consists of 3 units. It should be increased to include one of the parents, and two children counted as two separate units. Moreover, when the formula was originally established, mobile phones—now indispensable for communication—did not exist. Similarly, a worker requires personal or public/private transport to commute between home and workplace. These two expenditures must be considered in determining the minimum wage. The CITU Haryana State Committee submitted a memorandum with all these arguments to the committee constituted in April 2025 to recommend minimum wage rates in Haryana. CITU State President Surekha served as a member of this committee. The calculation presented by CITU Haryana was based on the family comprising 4 units.

The memorandum also suggested including:

1.             A monthly Communication Allowance (mobile phones and recharge tariffs) of Rs 350.

2.             A monthly Travel Allowance of Rs 1,500.

Consequently, the final minimum wage for an unskilled worker should be fixed at ₹31,843.48. This was endorsed by representatives of other trade unions, who were also members of the committee and put forward a demand for a minimum wage of ₹30,000.

NINE MEETINGS ON THE MINIMUM WAGES FORMULA AND THE APPROVED MINIMUM WAGES

The meetings commenced in May 2025. Regional meetings were held in the major industrial hubs of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Rohtak, Panipat, and Sonipat. A direct dialogue was held with representatives of employers' associations and trade unions of the respective regions. Both sides presented their arguments. After nine meetings, the committee unanimously decided to recommend a monthly minimum wage of Rs 23,196 to the State Government. The calculation by the Haryana Labour Department considered the family as 3 consumer units instead of 4.

*Data collected by the State Government's Statistics Department, April 2024-March 2025, in Ambala, Bahadurgarh, Hisar, Panipat, Rewari, and Sonipat.

STATE GOVERNMENT REJECTED COMMITTEE'S PROPOSAL

The Chief Minister, who also holds the Finance Ministry, had outlined a plan to increase the minimum wage in his March 2025 budget speech. The minimum wages revision in the state was due in 2020, but the process began five years late. The committee was formed as part of this process. However, its unanimous recommendation was rejected. The Chief Minister announced a minimum wage of Rs 15,220 on March 2, 2026. Implementation didn't begin until the workers' agitation in Manesar in April.

The subsequent agitations forced the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to raise the minimum wages slightly. Uttar Pradesh, which hadn't revised the minimum wage for the past 12 years, increased it from Rs 11,313 to Rs 13,690. However, the increase was of dearness allowance, and only for Noida and Ghaziabad. For the rest of the state, the minimum wages were Rs 13,006 and Rs 12,356. Uttarakhand raised them from Rs 12,391 to Rs 13,800, but only for establishments with 50 or more workers. In Rajasthan, the minimum wage is only Rs 7,410. In Delhi, the minimum wage declared by the previous AAP government is Rs 19,845.

PROBLEMS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF MINIMUM WAGES

Workers are fighting for implementation of these minimum wages. According to one estimate, workers in nearly half of Haryana's industries have still not received the increased wages. Declared rates were different for unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, and highly skilled. Workers in higher categories were relegated to lower ones by employers. Even machine operators' wages were reduced. Wages of contract labourers who were already earning Rs 19,000 or more were either reduced or not increased. Workers' anger remains high.

POLICE INTERFERENCE IN THE LABOUR MOVEMENT

The April 9 labour movement in Manesar was met with police repression and the arrest of 61 workers and trade union activists. 17 were charged under various sections including attempt to murder with a punishment of up to 10 years. However, the police's conspiracy theory was exposed on May 18. Dr. Gagan Geet Kaur, District and Sessions Judge, Gurgaon, granted bail to the main accused, a dismissed labour leader and union general secretary of the Balsonica company. During the hearing, she commented on the videos presented by the police: "it's only a trailor, there is more struggle ahead!", and, if raising slogans like "Inquilab Zindabad!" is a crime then the system should be ashamed of itself. The Court said that the police has not been able to present any evidence justifying the costody of the accused.

Furthermore, notices were issued by the Manesar police against CITU Haryana General Secretary Jai Bhagwan and Vice President Vinod Kumar;d on the nights of May 3 and 4, the Manesar police crime branch surrounded their homes. However, they were forced to return and on May 9, thousands of workers and other citizens gheraoed the Rohtak Superintendent of Police's office.

In Noida, the Yogi government declared the movement a conspiracy by Pakistanis and Naxalites. Over 400 workers were arrested. Some trade union activists were accused of foreign funding. Lawyers who came in support were also lathi-charged. The National Security Act (NSA) was invoked against two activists to prevent them from getting bail and to instill fear in other leaders. In Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, four women workers were illegally detained by the police for three days. They were released after intervention by a CITU delegation led by CITU National General Secretary Comrade Elamaram Karim. Similarly, in Bhiwadi and Neemrana, Rajasthan, the BJP government spared no effort in repressing them.

THE ISSUE IS NOT OVER YET

The April protest was merely a spark, but the flame is still burning. Workers are aware of the collusion between the government, police and employers. Raising their voice against exploitation and demanding wage increases is now a matter of survival for them. The movement has highlighted the potential for unity and for the emergence of class consciousness. Trade union movements and mass movements need to prepare themselves.