BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and much-hyped ‘model state’ Gujarat pay lowest; and LDF-ruled Kerala pays highest wages to the workers, noted the latest report of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the Financial Year (FY) 2022-23. A male agricultural worker got Rs 229.2 in MP and Rs 241.9 in Gujarat as daily wage, below the national average of Rs 345.7. For 25 working days in a month it amounts to just around Rs 5,730 in MP and Rs 6,047 in Gujarat.As per the rating firm Crisil, the cost of a veg-thali was Rs 27.9/day or Rs 840/month and a non-veg-thali Rs 61.4/day in September 2023.

THE Trade Union International (TUI) Transport 15th World Congress concluded with resounding slogans of "Workers of the World Unite - TUI (T) Zindabad." The TUI (T) comprises transport, ports, fisheries, and communications and is an integral part of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). The Congress took place in Athens, Greece, from November 21-22, 2023.

ONE of the striking findings of the Bihar Caste Survey, which bears out what the Left has been asserting for a long time, is that absolute poverty in the country is far more pervasive than what successive governments in India have been claiming. It shows that 34.1 per cent of Bihar’s population has a monthly household income of Rs 6,000 or less.

IT has become a crime in New India to observe Children’s Day by remembering the Palestinian children killed in Israel’s war on Gaza.  This is what happened on November 14 in Mumbai when a few score people, including minor girls, held a silent prayer in Juhu beach. 17 of them were arrested by the police and kept in the police station till the evening. All of them belong to the minority community.

IN a press statement released on November 22, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) issued an appeal to all farmers, urging them to participate in large numbers in the countrywide Kisan-Mazdur Mahapadav being held November 26 to 28 in state capitals.