Workers employed in sectors such as agriculture, construction, mining and railways would see a rise in their minimum wages as the central government hiked variable dearness allowance.
The Labour Ministry on Friday announced that the variable dearness allowance would be hiked by Rs 208 a month on an average for workers employed in the central sphere from Oct. 1, according to its statement. The revision varies between Rs 156 and Rs 286 a month for unskilled, semi skilled and skilled workers. The move's expected to benefit 1.5 crore such employees.
There are 45 scheduled employments in the central sphere.
“In order to protect the minimum wages against inflation, the central government has made provision of variable dearness allowance linked to Consumer Price Index number for industrial workers,” the Labour Ministry statement said. “This will be a major relief to different categories of workers engaged in various scheduled employments in the central sphere at a time the country is struggling with the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The revised rates are also applicable to contract and casual workers.
DPS Negi, chief labour commissioner (central), told BloombergQuint that the variable dearness allowance in respect of scheduled employment under the central sphere is revised once on April 1 and again on Oct. 1. The period under consideration for this order is from January to June 2021.
The Ministry of Labour & Employment had announced a similar hike in May.
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