8-Hour Shifts, Rs 20,000 A Month: What Workers Protesting In Noida Want

Cars torched, key roads choked with traffic, and hundreds of factory workers in a face-off with armed cops in riot-control gear -- Noida woke up to a massive agitation this Monday morning as industrial workers demanding better pay hit the streets. The protest turned violent when some workers in Phase 2, where several industrial units are located, damaged cars, including a police van, and threw stones at buildings.

The protesting workers spoke to the media about their grievances and how they are struggling to make ends meet with their current pay. A major trigger of the agitation is a development in neighbouring Haryana. The Haryana government's decision to hike the minimum pay has led workers in Noida to question why their wages should not be raised too.

Why Are Workers Protesting

Most of the protesting workers have said they make under Rs 15,000 a month and questioned how they can make ends meet with this sum. Some of them also said they are made to work for 12 hours daily and demanded 8-hour shifts.

Lakshmi, one of the protesting workers, said, "We are just asking for two things. One is overtime pay, and the other is a minimum wage of Rs 20,000 a month. We are being exploited in our company. We aren't given meals at the proper time, and there is no safety for women."

Another protester said each worker must earn at least Rs 800 a day. "Right now, we make Rs 300-400 a day."

A woman said everything, from cooking gas to room rent to school fees, was becoming costlier. "But our salaries are not increasing. What can we manage with Rs 13,000 a month?"

Rajesh, a protester, said they must be paid at least Rs 20,000 for eight-hour shifts. "We are not able to make ends meet. How will we bring up our children?"

The Haryana Factor

The protests in Noida have intensified after the Nayab Singh Saini government in Haryana raised minimum wages. Workers in Noida-based companies now feel short-changed because their contemporaries in the neighbouring state are making more for the same job.

Haryana has raised minimum wages for unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly-skilled workers by 35 per cent. An unskilled worker in Haryana will now earn at least Rs 15,220 a month, and a semi-skilled worker will now get Rs 16,780 a month.

Many of the protesting workers in Noida are questioning why they must work for less when their counterparts in Haryana are getting a salary hike. They have also said companies they work for are not paying them as per the minimum wages laid down by the central government.

Violence, And How UP Is Responding

Several cars were torched in Noida this morning after the protest turned violent. Noida police have said top officers have been rushed to the protest site, and all developments are being closely monitored. Police said they are speaking to the workers and urging restraint. They said it was using minimal force to keep the situation under control and appealed to people not to listen to rumours.

Chief Minister Adityanath has said every worker should get a respectable salary, a safe working environment and basic facilities. He called on industrial units to follow labour laws and address the issues raised by workers. The state labour department has been asked to hold talks with local authorities and industrial units. "Those creating nuisance in the name of workers must face strict action and security must be beefed up in industrial areas," the Chief Minister said, claiming that people must be careful of a "conspiracy to revive almost-dead Naxalism".