NEW DELHI: The Central government’s decision to raise minimum wages for unskilled non-agricultural workers from Rs 246 to Rs 350 notwithstanding, the trade unions will go ahead with their Friday strike.
The only relief or face-saver for the Centre is that, the Sangh-affiliated BMS is staying away from the shutdown on the ground that many of its demands have been met. Its counterparts, especially the Left trade unions, don’t agree though.
Spelling out the reason, All India Forward Bloc general secretary G Devarajan says that though the trade unions’ demand was Rs 600 per day for the unorganised sector, “many of the states like Delhi and Karnataka are already paying more than Rs 350. Therefore, we cannot call off the strike….”