The Delhi government's decision to hike minimum wages by 50 per cent has not gone down well with the Aam Aadmi Party's trade wing, which threatened to call a strike today claiming that the new policy will lead to lay-offs and affect business.
Calling the decision to hike the minimum wage in Delhi 'unjustified', Brijesh Goyal, the convenor of Aam Aadmi Party's trade wing said that the upward revision in wages will lead to "lay-offs" and could result in complete "shutdown" of industrial and trade activities in Delhi.
Mr Goyal said that he had a discussion on the matter of minimum wage hike with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Delhi's Labour Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday, before the Delhi cabinet approved the hike on Wednesday. He now intends to take his concerns to the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung.
"We have sought time from the Lieutenant Governor's office, and we will also meet with representatives of trade wings of other political parties. If everyone agrees on the issue of a strike, we could join with them."
Minimum wages in Delhi were already among the highest in north Indian states, and compared favourably with those in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal as well according to Mr Goyal. A further hike will make industrial and trade activities uncompetitive, and push up inflation he further claimed.
After the Delhi government's minimum wage hike, the minimum pay for an unskilled worker will be Rs. 14,052 against the previous Rs. 9, 568, while the pay for and semi-skilled and skilled workers will range from Rs. 10,582 to Rs. 15,471 and from Rs. 11,622 to Rs. 17,033 respectively.
