Noida violence fallout: UP announces interim hike in minimum wages; check full breakup

LUCKNOW: A day after the violent protests in Noida by workers, Uttar Pradesh govt notified an interim rise of up to 21% in daily wages on Tuesday. The decision was taken on the recommendation of a high-power committee formed by chief minister Yogi Adityanath in response to the Noida incident.The committee convened a multi-stakeholder meeting late Monday night.The minimum wage rules are applicable to 74 categories of workers.Industries and infrastructure development commissioner, Deepak Kumar, who led the committee, said: “The increase, effective from April 1, 2026, is interim and a final hike will be announced by the wage board next month. The board will consider both the demands of the workers as well as the industrial challenges, to come up with an amicable but permanent solution while ensuring that the investment-friendly environment remains intact in the state.”He reiterated that the UP govt was committed to ensuring industrial peace, protection of workers’ rights and maintaining an investment-friendly environment.Stating that the increment varied according to region and skills of the workers, principal secretary, labour, MKS Sundaram, said that according to the formula decided by the committee, in Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad, wages were increased by about 21%, with wages of unskilled workers increasing from Rs 11,313 to Rs 13,690, semi-skilled from Rs 12,445 to Rs 15,059, and of skilled workers from Rs 13,940 to Rs 16,868.“In other municipal corporation areas, wages have gone up by around 15%, while in the remaining districts, the increase is about 9.2%,” Sundaram said.In other municipal corporation areas, unskilled wages have been revised to Rs 13,006, semi-skilled to Rs 14,306 and skilled to Rs 16,025.In remaining districts, wages have been increased to Rs 12,356 for unskilled, Rs 13,591 for semi-skilled, and Rs 15,224 for skilled workers.“The revised wages include basic pay and dearness allowance, reflecting adjustments for inflation and regional economic variations across UP,” said Sundaram, who is a member of the high-power committee.He said that the decision would be notified via a govt order by Wednesday at the latest (as there was a govt holiday on Tuesday on account of Ambedkar Jayanti).Later, an official spokesperson dismissed reports of Centre fixing -- and states endorsing -- a minimum wage of Rs 20,000 for workers as ‘misleading’ while advising workers to trust the govt.“Claims of a Rs 20,000 minimum wage circulating on social media are baseless. The process of fixing a national floor wage under new labour codes by the Centre is still underway,” the spokesperson said.Taking note of the matter, the administration also launched a drive to identify anti-social and external elements attempting to disrupt peace.“Strict legal action, including arrests and criminal cases, will be taken against those found guilty,” an official said, adding that any attempt to disturb peace and development would not be tolerated.He said that the govt committee held consultations with employers, workers and other stakeholders.The official said that while representatives of workers emphasised that their protest to raise demands such as wage hikes, weekly holidays, double overtime pay and better working conditions was peaceful, and they suspected the involvement of outside elements, the employers acknowledged the demands but pointed to global economic pressures.Urging workers to trust the govt, the official said that the wage board would be constituted next month to begin the process of fixing permanent minimum wages.“The govt is also considering welfare measures related to health, pension and education for children of workers,” he said.Meanwhile, a district-level control room was also established in Gautam Budh Nagar to address workers’ grievances and ensure law and order.Workers may register their complaints on helpline numbers: 120-2978231, 120-2978232, 120-2978862 and 120-2978702.Other officials present in the meeting included additional chief secretary, industries, Alok Kumar; labour commissioner Markandey Shahi; Yamuna Authority CEO Rakesh Kumar Singh; and Noida district magistrate Medha Rupam.