HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday announced a hike in minimum wages for workers in Telangana, a move that the government said would benefit nearly 1.11 crore workers across the state.
Making the announcement at the Secretariat along with Labour Minister G Vivek Venkatswamy, Revanth said the government had categorised workers into four groups — unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled — before revising the wages based on the recommendations of a Cabinet sub-committee that held extensive consultations with stakeholders.
Under the revised structure, the minimum wage for unskilled workers has been increased from Rs 12,750 to Rs 16,000, for semi-skilled workers from Rs 13,452 to Rs 17,000, for skilled workers from Rs 13,772 to Rs 18,500 and for highly skilled workers from Rs 14,607 to Rs 20,000. The revised wages will come into effect from June 1.
Revanth said the revised wages were determined after taking into account inflation, rising prices of essential commodities, house rents and other living expenses.
Criticising the BRS government for not revising wages during its decade in power, the chief minister said the Congress government was committed to workers’ welfare and encouraging industries to prioritise Telangana youth in recruitment.
Need to shift focus towards blue-collar jobs: Revanth
The chief minister further stressed the need to shift focus towards blue-collar employment, warning that the rapid rise of artificial intelligence was reshaping global job markets and threatening traditional white-collar careers.
“The government is focusing on blue-collar jobs because AI is increasingly affecting white-collar employment. Reports from several countries show that many people have already lost jobs. In some cases, people who lost jobs in the US are returning to India,” he said.
Revanth said countries such as Germany, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the Philippines were facing a large shortage of skilled workers and were approaching the Telangana government for manpower. He said many youth still viewed the US and IT sector as the only career path, and stressed the need to change that mindset.
The chief minister further added, “I do not know whether a software job can fetch you Rs 1 lakh, but I can confidently say that a person with technical skills can earn Rs 2 lakh in these countries.” Stressing the growing global demand for skilled and semi-skilled workers, he said blue-collar jobs offered greater long-term stability. “AI cannot replace blue-collar jobs. There will always be job security in these sectors,” Revanth said.
He said the government was providing a monthly stipend of Rs 2,000 to encourage youth to join Advanced Training Centres (ATCs) for skill training and that the government would soon introduce new initiatives to encourage students pursuing education in Skills University and Polytechnic colleges.