India’s Uttar Pradesh state raises workers’ wages amid protests over pay
It increases the pay of unskilled staff to roughly US$147 a month from US$121
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[NOIDA, India] India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh has raised workers’ minimum wages following days of protests in an industrial hub, government sources said.
It is the second state to do so in less than a week amid rising costs fanned by the Iran war.
Protesters in Noida had torched vehicles and pelted stones on Monday (Apr 13) as they demanded higher pay, with police lobbing tear gas shells to quell the demonstrations.
Noida is a suburb of the national capital that houses industrial units, including that of South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics.
Last week, similar protests in the state of Haryana, an automaking hub, also led to its government ordering a 35 per cent hike in minimum wages.
The protests come at a time when living costs worldwide have risen as the US-Israeli war on Iran has curbed fuel supplies.
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Around 40,000 workers were part of the Noida protest, said the Gautam Buddh Nagar police, which has lodged seven criminal cases related to the demonstrations. More than 300 people have been arrested, a police spokesperson said.
The wage hike ordered this week will be applicable retrospectively from Apr 1, and will increase the pay of unskilled workers in Noida to roughly US$147 a month from about US$121, government sources said.
The wages for semi-skilled and skilled workers have similarly been increased, the sources noted, adding that different increases have also been made in other parts of the state.
The government of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, did not respond to a request for comment.
Discontent simmers
Sheetal Dixit, who works at a car company in Noida, said that workers had heard about the revised minimum wages but termed them “unfair”.
“We are not happy with the increased wages,” she said.
Many manufacturing units in Noida remained closed on Tuesday as protests persisted in some places, with people marching on the roads and chanting slogans under heavy police deployment. Stones were also being pelted at a police vehicle in one instance.
Reuters visuals showed police personnel in anti-riot gear attempting to disperse dozens of protesters on a street.
Other images showed charred and overturned vehicles still on the roads, underscoring the violence and arson that occurred the day before. REUTERS
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