Noida government protest ban halts worker demonstrations over wage rises

The Gautam Buddh Nagar government, which covers the cities of Noida, Dadri and Jewa in Uttar Pradesh, instructed Noida police to impose a Section 163 order under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which prohibits the unlawful assembly of more than five people, from 1-8 May. As well as the deployment over 1,700 officers, drones and CCTV were deployed to provide surveillance at key locations, such as major industrial units, the premises of multinational companies and major road junctions. Regular public announcements were also made reminding the public of the restriction on groups assembling for protest.

In the end, on 1 May, which is a public holiday in India, most factories were shut, and most workers remained indoors. This contrasted with events worldwide, as trade unions and labour activists held rallies and demonstrations to mark International Workers’ Day, or Labour Day, calling for higher wages, improved pensions, and highlighting inequality and other labour issues.

Simultaneously on 1 May, the Gautam Buddh Nagar government organised a free “mega health camp” for workers at 201 locations across Nioda, providing access to free medical services at government and private hospitals, and government wellness centres.

The Gautam Buddh Nagar government’s action to restrict Labour Day protests in Nioda came after thousands of the city’s factory workers took to the streets in large numbers on 13 April, protesting against low wages and poor working conditions. The protests quickly turned violent in some areas, with factories being attacked, vehicles smashed and huge traffic jams building up as protesting workers blocked roads.

Stones were later thrown at police, who used tear gas to disperse crowds, and more than 300 people were arrested. There are conflicting reports about what prompted the clashes between protestors and police, with protesting workers claiming they fought back after the police attacked them without provocation, and the police claiming the workers themselves turned violent, necessitating strong enforcement action.

Call for higher wages

The protesters, who work in the automotive parts, electronics, garment and small-scale manufacturing industries, have a strong case for higher wages and improved working conditions, say labour rights commentators. Factory workers in Noida generally earn anything between Rs 11,000 and Rs 12,000 a month, and wages have stagnated for several years, despite rising living costs. The April protests came amid the growing economic impact of the US-Iran conflict, which is driving up energy costs in countries such as India and reducing the purchasing power of the world’s most vulnerable populations and working people.

The protests led by factory workers also prompted domestic workers, such as cooks ans cleaners in private homes, to stage protests outside Noida’s upscale residential complexes. Like the factory workers, the domestic staff also demanded higher wages and better access to housing, healthcare and education for themselves and their families. 

Many of the factory and domestic workers involved in the protests are migrants who live in cramped rooms on the outskirts of Noida city and are required to send money home every month to support their families. This, say campaigners, leaves them struggling to survive on the remainder of their often-meagre wages.

Interim rise in wages

Following the protests, on 14 April, a high-level committee established by Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister Yogi Adityanath, announced an interim rise in minimum wages of around 21% for workers in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad (another city within the Delhi-NCR area), with the revised rates being backdated to 1 April to ensure retrospective payment of the higher salaries.

In Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad, wages for unskilled workers have risen from Rs. 11,313 to Rs. 13,690 per month; semi-skilled workers will receive Rs. 15,059 (a rise from Rs. 12,445); and skilled workers Rs. 16,868, (instead of Rs. 13,940), according to an official statement.

For other municipal corporation areas in the Delhi–NCR region, the revised monthly wages have been fixed at Rs. 13,006 for unskilled workers, Rs. 14,306 for semi-skilled workers and Rs. 16,025 for skilled workers.

In the remaining districts, unskilled workers will get Rs. 12,356 per month, semi-skilled workers Rs 13,591, and skilled workers Rs. 15,224.

The decision followed consultations between the Uttar Pradesh government, employers’ bodies and labour organisations. The government said suggestions and objections were examined to ensure a “balanced and practical” outcome.

Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam said: “The high-powered committee’s decision to increase wages was approved by the chief minister [Yogi Adityanath].”

Failure to match other salaries

However, labour rights campaigners say the wage increases in Noida still fail to match the salaries paid to workers in other industrial areas of Delhi–NCR, and contrast with the neighbouring state of Haryana, where the government recently announced a 35% increase in the minimum wage, following similar public demonstrations by aggrieved workers.

As a result, trade unions and campaign groups representing workers in in Noida continue to demand the Uttar Pradesh government introduces a minimum basic monthly salary of Rs 20,000, to match the minimum wage paid in Haryana. They are also demanding that salaries are paid and payslips are issued by the 10th of the month to help workers meet deadlines for paying everyday bills and have called on the government to require businesses to introduce double rates of pay for overtime.

According to a report in Frontline magazine, trade unions such as the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) rejected the Uttar Pradesh’s government’s notification on minimum wage increases, describing it as “unscientific”.

In a statement, Rajiv Dimri, general secretary of the All India Central Council of Trade Unions, said: “These workers, who are compelled to migrate from states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand etc. are made to work for extremely low wages in and around the national capital.

“Most workers in the Delhi–NCR region are also denied basic rights such as permanent employment, ESI (Employees’ State Insurance), PF (Provident Fund), bonus and overtime pay. There is widespread anger among workers in states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, where governments are seen blatantly siding with the factory owners.”

He added: “Faced with rising prices and continuous decline in real wages, workers are left with no other option but to struggle or starve to death.”

Labour rights campaigners say it is noteworthy that the protests did not erupt suddenly. Over the past few months, there has been a wave of workers’ protests across cities such as Panipat, Surat, Singrauli and Manesar, and it has now spread to Noida.