As Delhi hikes minimum wage, trade unions urge Indian states to ‘follow’

India, Britain talk up post-Brexit trade prospects

NEW DELHI, April 4, (RTRS): A “historic” move to raise the minimum wage of millions of Delhi’s poorest workers by almost 40 percent should be extended to other parts of the country to fight exploitation, trade unions and rights groups said on Tuesday.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi hiked the minimum wage rate for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers by 37 percent last month - making the capital the highest minimum wage provider to India’s working class population.

Activists said of India’s 36 states and union territories, Delhi was the only one to follow through on recommendations made by the labour ministry in 1957 and the Supreme Court in 1991 that states review minimum wage rates at least every five years.

“The Delhi government has shown the will to bring about a positive change in the lives of our workforce,” said Anurag Saxena from the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, a national movement with a membership of over three million workers.

“We hope that other states will follow too,” he added.

Activists called on the Delhi government to now focus on introducing legislation to punish employers found to be paying less than the minimum wage, saying this amounted to forced labour and required strict penalties.

Minimum wage rates in India are determined by both federal and state authorities and apply to 45 professions — including agricultural workers, miners, construction workers, government cleaners and security guards.

The rates — which are based on the cost of housing, clothes, food, education and electricity — vary across states, but have remained grossly inadequate for decades, say trade unionists.

The wage hike in Delhi applies to the National Capital Territory, which includes the capital and its environs — and covers a population of more than 16 million people, many of whom work in low wage jobs.

Under the new rules which came into effect on March 3, an unskilled worker will be entitled to a monthly salary of 13,350 rupees ($205), a semi-skilled worker 14,698 rupees ($225) and a skilled labourer 16,183 rupees ($250).

“That it took us nearly 60 years to implement those recommendations is quite telling on the treatment meted out to our country’s workforce,” said Ramendra Kumar from the Trade Union Coordination Centre.

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and Britain on Tuesday talked up their prospects of developing a new trading relationship, as their finance ministers met to prepare for the exit from the European Union. British finance Minister

flew in to New Delhi for talks with Indian counterpart

days after Prime Minister Theresa May triggered the formal start of the Brexit process.

Hammond played down the risks of a so-called “hard Brexit”, in which Britain would lose access to the markets of the bloc’s other 27 nations if the two sides cannot reach a consensus deal within a two-year deadline.

“We have made the decision that we will not be part of the structure of the European Union, but we’ve also made very clear that we want to negotiate the maximum possible open trade relationship with the European Union,” Hammond told a news conference after a joint economic and financial dialogue.

“We hope to be able to negotiate a deep and special relationship with the European Union that will allow us to go on trading and investing in each other’s economy, but at the same time allow us to rebuild our relationships with our partners and allies around the world.”

May received a cool reception on her first visit to India last November, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressing the importance not only of trade but also of freedom of movement for his country’s skilled workers.

Hammond later told UK journalists that May’s goal of reducing immigration to below 100,000 people per year would not have an adverse affect on Indian skilled workers and students seeking to go to Britain.

That was a long-term target, he said: “We know that our economy today has a significant dependence on migrant labour and will continue to do so for some time to come.”

Sixty percent of work visas were granted by Britain to Indian nationals — more than all other countries combined — while the number of Indians studying in the UK was rising again after a crackdown on bogus courses, he added.