Relevance: GS III (Indian Economy – Employment) & GS II (Governance & Social Justice) Source: The Indian Express 

1.What happened?

A distant global event has caused a domestic crisis for India’s poor workers.

• The Spark: A shipping blockade in West Asia disrupted global supply chains. This caused a sudden, massive spike in black-market prices for daily essentials, especially cooking gas (LPG) cylinders.
• The Survival Crisis: Migrant workers in industrial hubs like Noida, Manesar, and Ghaziabad simply could not afford basic survival at their current low salaries.
• The Spread: Anger boiled over. What started as a protest by factory workers quickly spread to gig workers (like delivery agents) and domestic helps. All are demanding fair wages.

2. Why are workers angry?

Costly LPG was just the tipping point. The real anger comes from long-standing administrative and economic issues:

• Stagnant “Real” Wages: The cost of living (inflation) is rising faster than worker salaries. Even if they get a small raise, their actual purchasing power (real wage) has dropped.
• MSME Distress: Most of these workers are employed by Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). These small factory owners are already struggling with global economic shocks and cannot afford to pay much higher wages.
• Harsh Working Conditions: Workers complain they are forced to do 10-12 hour shifts (instead of the legal 8 hours) without any extra overtime pay or basic safety facilities.
• Policy Confusion: The government recently combined old labour laws into 4 new Labour Codes. However, there is huge confusion on the ground. Workers feel private contractors are hiding the benefits promised in these new laws.

3. The Administrative Reality

• The Wage Gap: In 2023-24, inflation for workers was over 6%, but their average wage growth was only 5.5%. They are getting poorer.
• Job Losses: Official government surveys show that nearly 74.5 lakh workers lost their jobs in the informal sector compared to previous years.
• Unpaid Salaries: There is a huge spike in official complaints against private contractors for simply not paying the legally mandated minimum wage.

4. Government Response and The Way Forward

How should the administration handle this?

• Reactive Panic: Faced with massive protests, state governments took sudden, knee-jerk decisions. For example, Haryana hurriedly announced a massive 35% hike in the base minimum wage to stop factory shutdowns.
• Structural Solutions Needed: Sudden, massive wage hikes can bankrupt small MSMEs. The administration needs a balanced, long-term approach:
  • Strictly enforce a National Floor-Level Minimum Wage across all states.
  • Guarantee factory safety by strictly enforcing the new Occupational Safety (OSH) Code.
  • Provide a strong urban safety net (like affordable rental housing and subsidized energy) to protect poor migrant workers from sudden global inflation.

UPSC Value Box

With reference to labour welfare and economic indices in India, consider the following statements:

1. The Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) is compiled and released by the Labour Bureau.
2. Article 43 of the Directive Principles of State Policy explicitly directs the State to secure a ‘living wage’ for workers.
3. The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was founded post-independence in 1950 to secure the rights of factory workers.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer: (a)