AIUTUC demands immediate implementation of revised minimum wages

The All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC) on Thursday organised a district-level protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Kalaburagi, demanding the immediate implementation of the revised minimum wages for contract workers and urging the State government to reject any proposal to keep the final minimum wage notification issued on May 22, 2026, in abeyance.

Contract workers employed in various government departments, local bodies, public sector undertakings, private establishments, wind energy and solar energy companies participated in the demonstration. After the protest, the agitators submitted a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar through the Deputy Commissioner.

The protesters alleged that the reported proposal by the Finance Department to suspend the implementation of the revised minimum wages was anti-worker, unconstitutional and contrary to the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act. They contended that the issue was not confined to any particular department, but concerned lakhs of contract workers across Karnataka whose livelihood and statutory rights depended on the timely implementation of the revised wage structure.

The memorandum pointed out that although the minimum wages were due for revision in 2021, the notification was issued only in May 2026 after a delay of nearly five years. Any further postponement, it said, would inflict additional hardship on workers who had already been waiting for nearly a decade for the revision.

The AIUTUC maintained that the Karnataka High Court had declined to grant any interim stay on the revised minimum wage notification despite petitions filed by employers’ associations. Under such circumstances, the memorandum argued, the Finance Department could not administratively keep the notification in abeyance, as such a move would amount to interference with the judicial process.

The workers also contended that the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, does not empower any department to suspend a final notification once it has been issued. They pointed out that several government departments had already begun paying the revised wages and that withdrawing the notification now would create administrative confusion, industrial unrest and grave injustice to workers.

Rejecting the argument that higher wages would force industries to shift out of Karnataka, the protesters said sectors such as construction, security services, housekeeping, sanitation, municipal services, government outsourcing, wind energy and solar energy were location-specific and could not be relocated to other States merely because of revised wage rates.

The memorandum also stated that financial constraints could not be cited as a valid reason for denying minimum wages, referring to Supreme Court rulings which held that employers, including governments, were legally bound to pay statutory minimum wages irrespective of financial difficulties. It also argued that withholding the revised wages would violate Articles 21 and 23 of the Constitution as well as the spirit of ILO Convention No. 131 on minimum wage fixing.

The AIUTUC demanded that the State government immediately reject the proposal to suspend the May 22 notification, enforce the revised minimum wages in all government departments, boards, corporations, local bodies, private establishments and outsourcing agencies, release additional funds required for implementation, clear wage arrears, strengthen enforcement by the Labour Department through inspections and awareness drives, initiate stringent action against employers violating the law and strongly oppose any fresh attempts to obtain a stay against the notification before the High Court.

Labour leaders Raghavendra M.G., S.M. Sharma, Santosh Kumar Hirave, Sharanu Herur, Basavaraj Hulgol, Sharanamma Kattimani, Pavan Kumar Benakanalli, Mallinath Patil, Santosh Kumar Doddamani, Isamma Nalwar and others participated in the agitation.