Labour meet to help boost pro-poor image of AAP

NEW DELHI: In a bid to reach out to the working class, AAP's core constituency , CM Arvind Kejriwal will attend a “Shramik Samvad“ at Talkatora Stadium on September 1 during which he will highlight the government's proposal to hike minimum wages.The event is expected to be Kejriwal's show of strength as he is trying to project the Delhi government as pro-poor ahead of the assembly polls in Goa, Punjab and Gujarat where AAP is preparing to make inroads.Minister for labour and employment Gopal Rai said: “The minimum wages hike is a major policy push by the Delhi government. Besides the CM and his cabinet colleagues and party MLAs, a large number of representatives of workers' unions are expected to participate in the event.“The Delhi government has proposed a hike in minimum wages by approximately 50% for every category--skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled--of workers. The increase is already the highest in the country .According to the government's proposal, the minimum wage for an unskilled person will be Rs 14,052 against the existing Rs 9,568 in the national capital. Besides, the same for a semi-skilled and a skilled person will increase from Rs 10,582 to Rs 15,471 and from Rs 11,622 to 17,033 respectively .“The file has been sent to LG Najeeb Jung for approval and he has assured that he will decide on the wage hike soon,“ Rai added. He said that trade unions had demanded that minimum wages be raised to Rs 20,000 and the government would look into this.