Karnataka: Industries urge govt to appeal HC order on minimum wages
The minimum wages in the neighbouring states, they have said in representations to the government, are less, and a further hike could make them less competitive compared to the industries in towns in neighbouring states. The minimum wages in Karnataka are the second highest in the country, and another round of increase could hurt the state’s investment prospects, they have said.
The industry associations have submitted letters to the departments of Industry and Labour, as well as the chief secretary calling for government intervention.
The Labour department is re-working on a revised minimum wage structure as per the September 26 directions of the High Court.
The court set aside the 2022 wage notifications on grounds that they are not in conformity with a 1992 Supreme Court judgment, upholding the contentions of trade unions.
Labour Minister Santosh Lad, however, told ET that he has called for data of minimum wages from other states, and his department was going about the exercise in a systematic way by keenly looking at the costs of living in parts of Karnataka, including Bengaluru.
The conflicting demands have landed the government in a tight spot as it struggles to strike a balance between the interests of the millions of unskilled labourers and hundreds of thousands of industries, both big and small.
“The recent increase itself has been very steep. Any further increase could tilt the balance in favour of industrial suburbs in the neighbouring states,” said BC Prabhakar, President of Karnataka Employers Association, an industry body with about 800 members including Toyota Kirloskar, Bosch, L&T, Volvo, and Kenna Metal, among others.
A state with an advantage in labour costs is better positioned to attract
