The monthly wages of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers in Delhi will be increased just in time for the festive season.
Starting October 2024, the minimum wage of skilled workers in the country’s capital will be Rs 21,917 instead of Rs 21,215. Semi-skilled workers will earn Rs 19,929 instead of Rs 19,279. Unskilled workers will see their minimum wages go up to Rs 18,066 from Rs 17,494.
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi conveyed during a press conference that the wage hike is aimed at preventing the poor class from being exploited.
Earlier this year, in June 2024, the Delhi government had announced an increase in the minimum monthly wages for its Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) workers. The changes included wage hikes for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers employed by MCD.
During the pandemic, in 2021, the Delhi government had hiked the minimum wages of unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers so that they could tackle the price rise amidst the pandemic.
In 2019, it was reported that 55 lakh contractual workers in Delhi had benefited from a hike in minimum wages approved by the Supreme Court. The minimum wage of Rs 14,842 per month at the time was thrice more than the national minimum wage of Rs 4,628 per month. This was said to be a step towards making the economy stable and improving the purchasing power of the poor, so that there was more production and employment opportunities.