The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) on Tuesday asked the industry to take immediate corrective action in the wake of violent labor protests in Noida, but stressed that the concept of a unified national wage structure is “neither practical nor economically sustainable”.
In a statement following a workers’ protest in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida over low wages that turned violent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a trade union affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), said it is important to acknowledge that the current unrest reflects real concerns of workers and the industry must take immediate corrective measures to ensure “fair wage practices, reduce undue reliance on contract labour, and establish transparent and sustained dialogue mechanisms”.
However, she stressed that a unified national wage is not the solution.
“At the outset, it is important to realize that India’s industrial landscape is diverse, and differences in wage structures across states and sectors are a natural consequence of differing economic conditions, costs of living, and productivity levels,” the BMS statement said.
She said there were “real concerns” such as pay disparity within similar industrial clusters, high costs of living, excessive contracting and a lack of effective grievance redress mechanisms to contribute to dissatisfaction.
“When these concerns are ignored or delayed, they inevitably manifest into unrest,” the statement said.
BMS also condemned the actions that contributed to creating, escalating or exploiting this situation.
On Monday, workers’ protests over wage hikes turned violent in Noida, with reports of arson, stone-pelting and vandalism at several industrial clusters. The workers have been protesting for the past four days. But early Monday morning, during peak office and school hours, large parts of the city as well as neighboring Delhi came to a standstill, as workers blocked several major roads and police placed restrictions, used tear gas and fired birdshot to control the violence.
The UP government later in the night informed about the increase in minimum wages.
