A just struggle for ensuring livelihood for Workers

The demand for minimum wages is a very important and just demand for the entire working class of India. Whichever is the sector the worker is working for – central or state government, semi-government or private sector – minimum wages serve as the baseline for fixing the complete salary package.

In many of the Indian states including Delhi, workers and their organizations have been waging a struggle demanding for an increase in the minimum wages. All the trade unions and workers’ organizations are united around this demand. Many strikes on this issue are worth mentioning.

In the capitalist system, the capitalist ensures maximum profits for himself by making the worker work for maximum hours while paying him the bare minimum wages. In every sector, a big part of the value of product is siphoned off by the capitalist. For the labour put in by the worker the capitalist pays just enough to ensure he comes to work the next day.

Workers from this country as well as from all over the world have struggled to change this condition. As a result, capitalists have been compelled to accept that the worker should be given minimum wages to fulfil his as well as his family’s needs.

Minimum wages Act, 1948

The Indian government was also forced to enact the Minimum Wages act 1948 due to the continuous struggle waged by the working class. For the first time in India a tripartite Committee viz., "The Committee on Fair Wage" was set up in 1948 to provide guidelines for wage structures in the country. This Act also has a provision for awarding punishment to the employer for not paying minimum wages.

The Act contains a list of all the trades for which the central or state governments have a right to fix/revise minimum wages. Secondly the government can issue a notification of scheduled employment provided the number of employees is 1000 or more.

Variable Dearness Allowance

Variable Dearness Allowance is being given since 1991 to protect wages against inflation by linking it to rise in the Consumer Price Index. There is a provision in the Act for giving this allowance twice a year – April 1 and October 1.

Fixation of Minimum Wages

Minimum wage is the wage given for eight hours of work done, while in the case of monthly salary, it is given for 26 days work done. For the purpose of fixing minimum wages a family (husband, wife and two children) is considered as a unit by the government. Needs of this unit are fixed as follows – 1. Minimum food requirements of 2700 calories per average Indian adult; 2. Clothing requirements of 72 yards per annum per family; 3. Rent corresponding to the minimum area provided for under government’s Industrial Housing Scheme; 4. Fuel, lighting and other miscellaneous items of expenditure to constitute 20% of the total minimum wages; 5. Children’s education, medical requirement, minimum recreation including festivals/ceremonies and provision for old age, marriage, etc. to further constitute 25% of the total minimum wage.

Inconsistencies in fixing minimum wages and real needs of workers

Calorie – This is based on the amount needed by an individual on food items to remain alive, calculated as calories. Wholesale price or rural consumption expenditure is taken as the basis for this expense, whereas, this expenditure should be based on retail prices prevailing in the cities.

House rent - Rent corresponding to the minimum area provided for under government’s Industrial Housing Scheme is not relevant in the present condition. We should demand that it should be based on the rent prevalent for minimum area including all basic amenities in a central urban location. 

Other necessary items – Expenditure on other necessary items such as fuel, electricity, children’s education, medical requirements, recreation including festivals/ceremonies and provision for old age, marriage, etc. should be calculated based on retail prices prevalent in cities.

Variable Dearness Allowance

Government has no control over the prices of necessary items or price rise. Prices are rising not just every year but are rising day by day. So, the consumer price index which is based on the official wholesale and retail prices has no meaning. We should demand that the basis should be the retail price actually prevailing in the city local market nearest to the worker. Dearness allowance should be adjusted every month. Basis for consumer price index should be the current year.

Disregarding educational qualifications and production skills

Worker spends lakhs of rupees on acquiring production skills before getting into the production process. A graduate worker helps in improving the quality and skill of the production process. This is not taken into account for calculating minimum wages. Just giving a small amount in the name of skilled labour is not at all fair.

Workers who are more educated or professionally qualified are promoted by the government and bourgeoisie as not being part of the working class. It is propagated that there is no need for them to unionise or fight for their rights as workers because their salaries are anyway far above the minimum wages. We should not fall prey to this propaganda of the bourgeoisie, government and its agencies, which is designed to divide the working class. For e.g., a worker in the IT sector produces for the international market whereas the capitalist doesn’t pay him salary as per international standards. The capitalist earns international level profits which are several times higher than local level. Making them work for 12-16 hours and denying them right to unionise – is this not exploitation of IT sector workers?

Trade unions should demand that expenses on education and skill training be added to the minimum wages. We have to struggle for making value of skill acquisition part of minimum wages to ensure rights of the workers in the IT or any other similar sector who are not considered as workers by the capitalists and agencies of the government. This will strengthen the struggle of the working class and help in uniting workers from all the sectors.

While fighting for raise the levels of minimum wages, workers in every sector will have to continuously fight for more and more increase in salaries according to the nature of work. This struggle is very important in countering the exploitation by capitalists and rising prices of all commodities and services.

Struggle in Delhi for fixing the minimum wage at Rs 8500

Delhi is the capital of India and is one of the costliest cities in the country. The minimum wage fixed by the government is Rs 3633 for industrial workers in Delhi. Due to this meager wage coupled with rising prices, a worker and his family is forced to live without basic amenities in a small dingy room in a Jhuggi colony.

For e.g.. according to a government survey  there are 1867 Jhuggi colonies in Delhi covering an area of 1868 hectares. 3,79,151 families of workers live in these colonies.  65%  of these colonies are located either near a nullah or a railway track. 30.25% of these colonies don’t have toilet facilities. On an average these worker families have only 53 sq ft or 4 sq mtrs of space to live.

Workers are malnourished as they don’t have enough money to fulfil the calorie requirement essential for living. This is the case with those workers who have struggled to get minimum wages otherwise majority of the workers in Delhi who work in industrial areas and other sectors don’t even get minimum wages. One can easily imagine the standard of living of these workers.

Other than the above irregularity workers in Delhi also don’t get ESI card, double overtime, appointment letter, PF, and many other facilities besides being made to work for 8-12 hours.

All the trade unions in Delhi are fighting for minimum wages to be increased to Rs 8500. Minimum wages has been calculated by them according to the Minimum Wages Act 1948 based on the present consumer price index (see table).