<p>New Delhi: One in every four casual workers in India are paid below the statutory <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/search?q=minimum%20wages">minimum wages</a>, which indicates significant gaps in wage enforcement and labour protection, SBI Research said on Friday.</p><p>There is also a substantial interstate disparity in the minimum wage compliance. Over 70% of casual workers in Chhattisgarh are paid less than the statutory minimum wages. Odisha (66%) and Jharkhand (65%) are among the worst states in minimum wages enforcement.</p><p>Maharashtra and West Bengal also have nearly one-third of casual workers receiving wages below the mandated minimum wage. In Karnataka at least one in every five casual workers earn below the minimum wages.</p><p>Widespread workers’ protests were witnessed recently in different parts of the country including Noida in Uttar Pradesh; Barauni in Bihar; Panipat, Faridabad and Manesar in Haryana and Surat in Gujarat, demanding higher wages and improvement in working conditions.</p>.Stagnant wages, simmering unrest.<p>To calm the protests the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have announced significant increases in minimum wages. SBI Research data indicate that compliance is a major challenge as a substantial number of labourers are not paid even the minimum wages, which are in place. </p><p>Situation is worse for women. Female workers constitute 45% of all underpaid casual workers despite representing only 25% of the casual workforce, while male workers account for 55% of unpaid workers while forming 75% of the workforce, indicating substantial gender disparity in minimum wage compliance.</p><p>To estimate the extent of minimum wage violations among casual workers, SBI Research said it has employed a logistic regression model using the unit-level data merged with the state-wise minimum wage rates as of 2022 obtained from Chief Labour Commissioner (Central).</p><p>The report noted that 80-90% of the workforce in India is engaged in informal employment. Punjab has the highest share of informal workers at 82%, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar at 81% each.</p><p>Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh also exhibit high levels of informal employment, with nearly 74% of workers engaged in informal jobs.</p><p>States with relatively diversified industrial and service-sector activities such as Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Karnataka exhibit comparatively lower levels of informal employment.</p><p>“Despite regional differences, informal employment remains the predominant form of employment across all states, highlighting the need for greater workforce formalization and expansion of social security coverage,” it said.</p><p>In its report based on the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data, SBI Research noted that the share of agriculture in India’s workforce declined from 66% in 1987-88 to 43% in 2023-24.</p>
<p>New Delhi: One in every four casual workers in India are paid below the statutory <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/search?q=minimum%20wages">minimum wages</a>, which indicates significant gaps in wage enforcement and labour protection, SBI Research said on Friday.</p><p>There is also a substantial interstate disparity in the minimum wage compliance. Over 70% of casual workers in Chhattisgarh are paid less than the statutory minimum wages. Odisha (66%) and Jharkhand (65%) are among the worst states in minimum wages enforcement.</p><p>Maharashtra and West Bengal also have nearly one-third of casual workers receiving wages below the mandated minimum wage. In Karnataka at least one in every five casual workers earn below the minimum wages.</p><p>Widespread workers’ protests were witnessed recently in different parts of the country including Noida in Uttar Pradesh; Barauni in Bihar; Panipat, Faridabad and Manesar in Haryana and Surat in Gujarat, demanding higher wages and improvement in working conditions.</p>.Stagnant wages, simmering unrest.<p>To calm the protests the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have announced significant increases in minimum wages. SBI Research data indicate that compliance is a major challenge as a substantial number of labourers are not paid even the minimum wages, which are in place. </p><p>Situation is worse for women. Female workers constitute 45% of all underpaid casual workers despite representing only 25% of the casual workforce, while male workers account for 55% of unpaid workers while forming 75% of the workforce, indicating substantial gender disparity in minimum wage compliance.</p><p>To estimate the extent of minimum wage violations among casual workers, SBI Research said it has employed a logistic regression model using the unit-level data merged with the state-wise minimum wage rates as of 2022 obtained from Chief Labour Commissioner (Central).</p><p>The report noted that 80-90% of the workforce in India is engaged in informal employment. Punjab has the highest share of informal workers at 82%, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar at 81% each.</p><p>Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh also exhibit high levels of informal employment, with nearly 74% of workers engaged in informal jobs.</p><p>States with relatively diversified industrial and service-sector activities such as Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Karnataka exhibit comparatively lower levels of informal employment.</p><p>“Despite regional differences, informal employment remains the predominant form of employment across all states, highlighting the need for greater workforce formalization and expansion of social security coverage,” it said.</p><p>In its report based on the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data, SBI Research noted that the share of agriculture in India’s workforce declined from 66% in 1987-88 to 43% in 2023-24.</p>