Govt raises minimum wages by 42%

In a attempt to preempt the trade unions, including five lakh bank employees which had called for a nation-wide one-day strike on September 2. The government has accepted advisory board recommendations and raised the minimum wage at Rs 350/day for non-agricultural workers against the present rate of Rs 246, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday. BJP-led NDA government has raised the minimum wage by 42%, a significant revision since 2008 besides deciding to release bonus for central government employees for two years, based on the revised norms.

Apart from this, central government employees will get revised two years' bonuswhich was pending, Jaitley said at the press conference. Some 33 lakh employees of the central government have reasons to cheer now with the announcement of their bonus that has been pending for two years. "The bonus entitlement for 2014-15 and 2015-16 will be released on the revised norms for central government employees. This was pending for two years. After this, the bonus will be covered under the 7th Pay Commission," Jaitley told reporters. While accepting the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission, the Centre doubled the minimum wage to Rs 18,000. The trade unions have been demanding much higher than the figure proposed by the government. The Centre has also decided to write to all the states regarding the compliance of Contract Workers Law. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an emergency meeting, in which the Union Labour Minister Bandaru Datareya was also present, to decide on the Centre’s plan of action to preempt the trade strike called by agitating union workers.