Haryana govt announces raise in minimum wages

The Haryana government on Friday announced an increase in minimum wages for labour which would be applicable from November 1. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the minimum wages of unskilled labourers would be increased from Rs 5,900 per month to Rs 7,600 per month and of skilled labourers from Rs 6,536 per month to Rs 9,699 per month, an official release said.

Khattar made the announcement while paying tributes to philosopher and educationist Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya on his birth anniversary. He also said the minimum wages of unskilled and skilled labourers would be increased as per the rate of inflation. Earlier, they were increased at the rate of 2.31 per cent annually. The chief minister said the minimum wages had been increased in 2007 and they should have been revised in five years, in 2012, but the previous government allegedly failed to do it.

He said the BJP government has increased the wages to enable the labourers to lead a smooth life. Referring to the new education policy at the Valedictory Session of the State Level Consultative Meet at Panchkula, Khattar said it was for the first time after Independence that an education policy was being prepared comprehensively and added that suggestions for the same had been invited from village to the state level.

He said draft of the policy would be sent to HRD Ministry and expressed hope that it would be useful in finalising the education policy of the country. The Chief Minister also released a poster of the education policy on Friday. The Chief Minister said development was not confined only to the construction of infrastructure, it also included human development. He said a child’s development begins from the family and society and added that only a child with good education and moral values could contribute to nation building.

He also lamented that in 68 years of Independence, the people of the country did not get the right direction but now the BJP government was taking it in the correct direction with the support and cooperation of the people, he said.

Speaking on this occasion, state Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said suggestions have been taken from lakhs of people in 6,072 villages, 126 blocks and 21 districts for the education policy.