Wage protests in Haryana and UP made headlines. But a city in Rajasthan has been simmering too | Jaipur News

Until last month, Sunita Devi would get by on her salary: Rs 11,500 a month. A mother of three, Sunita would use that money to pay rent and buy groceries, and whatever remained would go into raising her three children. That changed when the West Asia war began to drive up gas prices, squeezing finances at home.

“Earlier, I could buy a 3 kg cylinder for Rs 200. Now, it’s gone up to Rs 1,500,” she says. “I work eight hours, for which I get Rs 60 as overtime. How is my salary meant to keep pace?” the 35-year-old, who works at a factory in Bhiwadi, tells The Indian Express.

She isn’t the only one. As the West Asia war drives up LPG prices, hundreds of workers have been protesting in Rajasthan’s industrial town of Bhiwadi over the last week to demand an increase in pay. Although the agitation has been ongoing, it intensified after the Haryana government’s decision to institute a 35 percent hike in minimum wages, prompting calls for similar measures here.

Workers’ allegations range from poor working conditions to alleged abuse and intimidation by factory owners. While some factory managements have agreed to hike salaries, negotiations are ongoing at others.

“We’ve asked for salary hikes multiple times but no one listens to us,” one worker who has worked in Bhiwadi for four years says. “I get paid Rs 14,000, and my shift is from 6 am to 2 pm, but they force us to work longer without overtime pay. Verbal abuse is routine. If we cannot support ourselves and our families, what is the point of working?”

For its part, the administration has dispatched several police contingents to prevent a repeat of the violence in Noida. However, Bhiwadi Additional SP Atul Sahu said the protests in the area have been peaceful. “No violence has taken place, and the police held meetings with various factory associations to resolve the workers’ issues,” he says.

What triggered the protests

Bhiwadi is a major industrial hub that’s home to 6,500 units focusing on automotive, engineering, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing. As a result, it is home to over 4 lakh unskilled labourers — 60 per cent of whom are from outside Rajasthan.

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Factory owners say between 40 and 50 per cent of these workers are hired on a contractual basis. According to Rajasthan’s laws, the minimum wages for unskilled workers are Rs 7,410 per month; semi-skilled, Rs 7,722 per month; skilled, Rs 8,034 per month; and highly skilled, Rs 9,334 per month.

On April 8, the Haryana government announced a 35 percent minimum wage hike, effective April 1. The move, prompted by workers’ protests, means that unskilled workers in the state will earn Rs 15,220.71 per month, semi-skilled workers Rs 16,780, and skilled workers Rs 18,500.

The move fuelled similar demands in Bhiwadi. Apart from increasing minimum wages, workers’ demands include better working hours and an end to alleged harassment. The protests come against the backdrop of recent unrest in Noida, where similar worker agitations had turned violent, raising concerns among authorities here.

Workers allege poor conditions, including abuse, denial of breaks, and threats. But factory owners deny the allegations, claiming they have “set work timings and paid overtime”.

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“Many factories also provide food,” Jasbir Singh Rana, president of the factory owners’ body, Bhiwadi Manufacturing Association, says.

At the same time, some remain resistant to the demand for increased wages, citing a series of setbacks and saying they feel “hemmed in”. “First came the tariffs by US President Donald Trump, then the fuel shortage from the Iran-US war, and now the Haryana government’s wage announcement,” Gridhari Lal Swami, treasurer of the Bhiwadi Manufacturing Association — a factory owners’ body — told The Indian Express, adding: “In Rajasthan, the minimum salary of the unskilled worker is Rs 7,450. These workers are demanding a wage hike despite getting good money.”

As protests grow, factory owners have begun to take conciliatory measures: the Bhiwadi Manufacturing Association, for instance, claims to have distributed 600 gas cylinders among workers. “We have also written a letter to the district supply officer to provide 500 more cylinders. Most of these workers do not have a gas connection, so they get it on the black market,” Rana says.

Amid the protests, the state government says it is in “constant talks with workers and factory owners” and that the “situation is under control”. Asked about whether a hike in minimum wages is being considered in Rajasthan, Deputy Labour Commissioner Pragya Shamra says an increase is “long overdue” and that her department has sent its report recommending it to the state government.