COIMBATORE: Temporary workers of the government and its affiliated organisations, including both skilled and unskilled labourers in Coimbatore, have expressed dissatisfaction with the district administration for not releasing the revised minimum daily wages for the 2025-26 financial year. They pointed out that while other districts have released minimum wage rates, the district administration has not done so for the past five months.
A temporary worker, C. Balaji, at a government office in the city, told the TNIE that, as per norms and based on the report of a committee comprising officials from the Labour Department, local bodies, and other authorities, the district collector should release the revised minimum daily wages for workers in the district by April or May.
He said that based on this, government organisations and private firms will pay the wages fixed by the district administration to employees. "For instance, I was receiving a daily wage of Rs 480 in the 2023-24 financial year, which was increased to Rs 578 for 2024-25. However, as revised minimum daily wages were not released, I have been getting the same wage this year as well," he said.
He added that, for instance, if the district administration had increased the daily wage by at least Rs 50, he could have earned an extra Rs 1,200 for 24 days. "That would definitely help cover my miscellaneous expenses," he added.
Another temporary worker told the TNIE that they had met officials in the district administration to request the release of the revised daily wages, but officers at the collectorate said the report was awaiting the collector's approval. He urged the district collector to take immediate action on the matter, saying that only then could the report be sent to higher officials of the respective departments to revise wages as recommended.
CPI(M) Coimbatore district secretary C Padmanabhan told the TNIE that this delay is unacceptable, as workers' rights are being denied and livelihoods are affected. He added that he would meet with the district collector on Friday regarding this.
District Collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar said, "We have released the revised minimum wages. We have also made some changes. Mahouts and kavadis have now been brought under the list, while some other categories of workers have been removed."
However, when the TNIE checked the district administration's official website as of publishing, only daily wage documents for 2024-25 were available.