‘Minimum wages too little to sustain’

Delhi High Court on Friday remarked that minimum wages recently notified by the Delhi government are “too little” and “inadequate” to sustain an individual in the prevailing economic conditions in the national capital.

The court’s remark came while hearing petitioners such as traders, petrol dealers and restaurant owners, who had challenged the Delhi government’s notification.

It remarked that these petitioners would not be able to say on affidavit that they were giving all the benefits under the labour law to their workmen.

As per the Delhi government March 3 notification, the minimum wages for unskilled, semiskilled and skilled labour were fixed around ₹13,350, ₹14,698 and ₹16,182 respectively.

“Is it possible to sustain an individual on ₹13,000? Average cost of commute for an individual per day is around ₹100 which comes to ₹3,000 in a month. Where do you eat? One has to eat. That would also cost ₹50 per day. The amount of ₹13,000 is too little. It’s inadequate,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Anu Malhotra said.

Some associations representing traders, dealers and restaurateurs had challenged the minimum wages notified by the government for workmen.

The bench told the employers to “take a more proactive role” and decide what should be the minimum wages if they were aggrieved by the wages fixed by the government, saying “charity begins at home”.

“Look at the workmen. They have to also take care of their families and you (employers) are challenging the minimum wages of ₹13,000 to ₹16,000,” the court said.