Delhi government to restart minimum wage talks and meet on 23 September, 2016

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s plan to hike minimum monthly wages by 50 per cent to around Rs. 14,000 for workers in Delhi has been scrapped in its current form.

Following a diktat from Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung, the Delhi government has been compelled to start the entire exercise of computing the revised minimum wages afresh.

“The minimum wages advisory committee has been reconstituted and notified now. It will meet on September 23 to start fresh discussions to fix minimum wages,” said a top State Labour Ministry official. Industry chambers had raised apprehensions about the formula, the official said. “The calculations will be revisited now as industries too had raised a few objections,” he added.

The previous 13-member advisory committee was termed ‘illegal’ by the LG as it was formed without his approval. Mr. Jung had earlier this month sent back the Delhi government’s proposal to substantially hike the minimum wage asking it to restart the entire process. “There is no change in the new committee but it has now been approved by the LG,” the official added.

Delhi Labour Minister Gopal Rai had said earlier this month that although it had sought ex-facto approval to the formation of the committee from the LG, he had declined the request which will lead to “delay” in revising the minimum wages.