A day after violent protests in Noida on Monday, the Uttar Pradesh government has announced a rise in minimum wages for different categories of labourers. Officials said the revised pay structure will be applied from April 1, with retrospective effect, reported PTI.

Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam said the increase was finalised by a high-level committee and later cleared by the Chief Minister.

Revised minimum wages for workers 

As per the new rates, unskilled workers in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad will now earn Rs 13,690 per month, up from Rs 11,313. Semi-skilled workers will get Rs 15,059, while skilled workers will receive Rs 16,868, according to an official statement.

In other municipal corporation areas, monthly wages have been set at Rs 13,006 for unskilled workers, Rs 14,306 for semi-skilled workers, and Rs 16,025 for skilled workers.

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For the remaining districts of the state, unskilled workers will now be paid Rs 12,356 per month, semi-skilled workers Rs 13,591, and skilled workers Rs 15,224.

Officials said the revision came after discussions with industry representatives and labour groups. Inputs from both sides were reviewed before arriving at what the government described as a fair and workable decision.

The wage hike follows widespread protests by factory workers in Noida earlier this week. Thousands had taken to the streets demanding better pay and improved working conditions. In some areas, the protests turned violent, leading the government to step in, set up a committee, and begin talks with both workers and employers.

Over 300 arrested – Why did the workers protest?

Workers said low wages and poor working conditions led to the protests. Gautam Buddh Nagar Additional Labour Commissioner Rakesh Dwivedi said workers are demanding a wage increase similar to what the Haryana government has provided. “Besides, there are other issues as well, like overtime and food,” he told PTI. By evening, police had taken more than 300 protesters into custody under preventive sections for their involvement in arson and vandalism. Additionally, over 100 individuals were detained for further questioning.

Officials stated that teams are actively reviewing CCTV footage from the affected factories to identify more participants. Authorities indicated that additional arrests and legal action could follow once the identification process is complete.

One protester said that even after working 12-hour shifts, workers earn between Rs 11,000 and Rs 15,000, which makes it difficult to run a household. Another protester, Nakul Singh, claimed that companies are not paying overtime as per rules.

Political backlash

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday launched a sharp attack on the UP government, alleging that “injustice has reached its peak” in the state and accusing the administration of ignoring long-pending demands of workers.

“When neighbouring states have revised minimum wages, why did the state government not do so?” he said, adding that workers have been raising these issues for a long time. 

In another post on X (formerly Twitter), he said the protests are “the result of the one-sided policy of the BJP government, which favours capitalists while exploiting ordinary working employees and salaried labourers.”

However, speaking to the news agency ANI, Yadav said, “The Uttar Pradesh government ranks number one when it comes to lying. The CM claims that this is a conspiracy, but if it truly is a conspiracy, did his intelligence wing also accompany him to Bengal to campaign? By labelling this a ‘conspiracy,’ they are merely attempting to mask their own failures.”

Adding to it, Yadav said that, “Given the current high inflation, it is only natural for labourers to come forward with their demands. The committee formed today to engage in dialogue with the labourers could have been constituted much earlier.”

‘Conspiracy to create instability’: UP Minister links Noida violence to Pakistan

Uttar Pradesh Labour Minister Anil Rajbhar on Monday called the violence during workers’ protests in Noida a “well-planned conspiracy.” He also said authorities are looking into a possible Pakistan link, especially after recent terror-related arrests in the region. 

The minister said early findings indicate that the incident may have been aimed at creating instability in the state. He added that four suspected terrorists were recently arrested from Noida and Meerut, and they were allegedly linked to handlers based in Pakistan.

“The incident appears to have been carried out with the intention of disrupting the development and law and order of the state. In recent days, four suspected terrorists have been arrested from Meerut and Noida, whose links were connected to handlers based in Pakistan. In such a situation, the possibility of a conspiracy to create instability in the state gains strength. Agencies are seriously investigating the entire matter,” Rajbhar said in a statement.