Minimum Wage Advisory Board urges govt. to establish commissions for elderly, youth

Karnataka State Minimum Wage Advisory Board chairman T.M. Shahid Thekkil on Friday said he has suggested to the government to establish “Vayojana Ayoga” and “Yuvajana Ayoga” along the lines of that in Keralam.

Speaking to reporters at the district office complex, Rajatadri, in Manipal, Mr. Thekkil said the proposed commissions were expected to protect the rights of the elderly and the youth in the State and also ensure their welfare.

Speaking about workers’ welfare, Mr. Thekkil said workers should adequately be provided with various government facilities, including minimum wage. There is a need to create awareness about protection of their rights, healthcare facilities, and welfare schemes. Following steep increase in prices of essential commodities, including cooking gas, food products and pulses, workers should get a fair reward for their work. As there is no revision in minimum wages for the last years, revision has become imminent, he said.

A minimum wage of ₹19,000 for rural workers and ₹21,000 for urban workers is required. While there is a court stay on the revision of minimum wages, the government is attempting to get the stay vacated. The government is working to provide workers with their rights and facilities. There are about 3.5 crore workers in the State, and the government’s aim is to ensure that they get justice, he said.

The views of the Labour Unions will be collected and these issues will be raised in the next meeting. The government is in favour of workers and will not allow injustice to be done to them. The board will also submit a recommendation to the government to ensure that journalists too get the minimum wage, he said.