The revision of minimum wages for over 2 two crore workers across scheduled employment in Karnataka — the draft of which was notified last week — will put a large number of workers outside the ambit of Employees’ State Insurance (ESI), as they are set to breach the ₹21,000 per month income ceiling fixed as eligibility criteria.
The State government, however, is pushing the Centre for upward revision of the eligibility ceiling to ₹30,000 per month that will cover most workers, if done.
Though the notified wage revision for 100 scheduled employment, including the 18 that were added in recent years, has brought cheer among the workforce, it is expected to add to the woes of a section of workers who might lose out on medical, sickness, maternity, and disability benefits on account of the ceiling.
On April 10, the Labour Department notified the draft notification of minimum wages proposing the monthly range from ₹19,319.36 for unskilled labourers in Zone 3 to a maximum of ₹34,225.42 for highly skilled employees in thermal stations. Across industries in Zone 1 (Bengaluru and surrounding areas), the minimum wage for a highly skilled worker is ₹31,114.02 per month.
Those earning above ₹21,000 per month will become ineligible for ESI benefits. For the physically challenged persons, the ceiling is ₹25,000 per month.
Enhancement sought
Acknowledging the issue, Labour Minister Santosh Lad told The Hindu that the State government has written to the Centre over a year ago to increase the ceiling limit to ₹30,000 a month. He said that he had written to Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje. “I have written thrice already. I will go and meet the Minister. I have written to all MPs on the issue.”
Under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the State government is obliged to revise the wages at least once in five years, and the last wage revision in the State in the range of 5% to 10% was undertaken in 2022 for about 34 scheduled employment. The latest proposal, which will now be considered by Minimum Wages Advisory Board after receiving objection, is upto 70% raise from the current salaries.
Mr. Lad argued, “The minimum wages in Karnataka has been framed scientifically and is based on the Supreme Court’s judgement in the Raptakos Brett case. It has been calculated based on the cost of food and clothing required for a family of four, including two children below 15. The wages have been fixed after a study of eight months. Just because the Centre does not want to raise the ceiling, revision of minimum wages here cannot be held back. In fact, independent studies undertaken in Bengaluru have shown that a family requires about ₹35,000 a month for survival.”
Mr. Lad also said that the number of workers in the ₹21,000 and ₹25,000 minimum wage range is small, but the number increases after ₹27,000 minimum wage per month. “If the Centre enhances the ceiling, it will help crores of workers. I am hopeful that in the next few months, the Centre will agree to enhance the ceiling.”
Full medical care provided
According to Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), full medical care is provided to the insured person and family members from the day of entering insurable employment, and that there is no ceiling on expenditure on the treatment. Even those retired and permanently disabled insured persons and their spouses are eligible for medical care on payment of a token annual premium premium of ₹ 120.
Published – April 19, 2025 08:41 pm IST
