Workers’ protests demanding wage hike continued on Tuesday in Noida despite the revised salary structure by the Uttar Pradesh government. The protest erupted in Noida’s Sector 80, 121, 60, Phase 2 and other parts of the industrial area.
The police registered seven FIRs and arrested early 350 people in violence. “We have arrested more than 300 people for indulging in violence. Apart from this, more people are being identified for instigating the protest,” said Laxmi Singh, commissioner of police, Gautam Budh Nagar. The protest turned violent on Monday with reports of arson, stone-pelting, and vandalism reported across multiple industrial clusters.
“During the investigation, it came to light that an organised group was involved in instigating the protesters in a systematic way. In the last two to three days, multiple social media accounts have been created to mislead protesters. Efforts are also underway to identify their funding,” said Singh.
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Tularam, who works at a garment factory in Noida Phase 2 , said, “Our only demand is to increase the salary by ₹20,000. I get a salary of ₹13,000. It is very hard to survive for a month. My salary gets exhausted by the 10th of every month. To fulfil the essential needs of my family, I work overtime and sometimes 24-hours-a-day.”
When asked about the committee formed in Lucknow that revised the salary structure in a late-night meeting, Tularam said, “I also saw this in the news, but we did not receive any official confirmation from the factory owners. The government is not paying us. We are paid by the factory owners, who are offering us pennies for our hard work.”
Tularam has been involved in garment factory work for the past five years. “When I joined, I got a salary of ₹11,000 a month. In five years, there has only been a ₹ 2,000 increase. Is this fair for us?” he asked.
The protest on Tuesday was seen in multiple parts of Noida. While workers continued peaceful protests, in some areas, stones were pelted. Police said they have deployed PAC, RAF, and city police to contain the protest.
On Monday, police registered two cases against social media accounts, and a separate team is tracking the handles.
The revised rates were divided into three categories: for Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida)-Ghaziabad, for cities with municipal corporations, and for other districts of the state. These increased interim rates will be considered effective from April 1.
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For Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad, unskilled workers’ wages have been raised from ₹11,313 to ₹13,690 (interim), semi-skilled from ₹12,445 to ₹15,059 (interim), and skilled from ₹13,940 to ₹16,868 (interim).
In other districts with municipal corporations, wages for unskilled workers have increased to ₹13,006 (interim) from ₹11,313, for semi-skilled to ₹14,306 from ₹12,445, and for skilled to ₹16,025 from ₹13,940.
In other districts, unskilled workers will now earn ₹12,356 instead of ₹11,313, semi-skilled ₹13,591 instead of ₹12,445, and skilled ₹15,224 instead of ₹13,940.