Jharkhand first state to take steps to ensure minimum wages for workers

Ranchi : The Jharkhand government is readying to draft a policy to ensure that those working asfood delivery boys or doing other similar work get the minimum wages. The the state’s labour department has constituted a committee for this.

Jharkhand is the first state which has taken steps towards bringing people working on contract or commission for companies like Swiggy-Zomato-Ola-Uber-Rapido under the ambit of minimum wages. No other state government has taken such an initiative till now.

Labour Commissioner Sanjiv Kumar Besra, Minimum Wage Board Director Rajesh Prasad, Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce & Industries President Kishor Mantri, Jharkhand INTUC President Rakeshwar Pandey and representatives of CITU, BMS and AITUC trade unions have been included in the committee formed by the Jharkhand State Minimum Wage Advisory Council under the state's labour department.

This committee will study the conditions in which Swiggy-Zomato, Ola-Uber drivers, gig workers, online delivery boys are working. On this basis, recommendations regarding their minimum wages will be made. It is estimated that about 12 lakh people are engaged in such work in various districts of Jharkhand.

Earlier, the Jharkhand government made a law to reserve 75 per cent of the posts in all the private companies in the state with a monthly salary of up to Rs 40,000 for the local people. Action has also been taken against hundreds of companies for not following this rule.

Now, the minimum wages of labourers working on contract in various industrial-business establishments or private-government institutions of the state are also being reviewed. It will be recommended to increase their minimum wages by dividing them into different categories based on their areas of work and nature of work.

Preparations are being made to divide the cities of the state into three categories. Employees working in big cities including Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Bokaro will be placed in the 'A' category, employees working in the Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Municipal Councils will be placed in the 'B' category and employees working in the rural and remote rural areas will be placed in the 'C' category. And the minimum wage will be determined based on these criteria.