Rahul backs Rs 20K wage demand; Left flags low wages

New Delhi: The Congress and the Left extended support to the workers' agitation in Noida, seeking an increase in their minimum wages and better working conditions. The opposition said the workers had been the worst hit by the fuel price hike due to the West Asia war, making their current low wages inadequate to meet rising prices of essential commodities.

"Fuel prices are skyrocketing worldwide, the supply chain has snapped due to the war in West Asia... The hardest hit is the daily-wage worker who eats only when he earns," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday. "Noida's workers are demanding ₹20,000. This isn't greed, it's his right. I stand with every such worker, who is the backbone of this country, yet has been reduced to a burden by this government."Also Read: Noida protests: UP govt approves revised minimum wages across categories

Gandhi, also the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, claimed that the four labour codes enacted by the government had added to the workers' hardships.Also Read: Noida protest: How salary talks turned into deadly chaos across the city; here's what happened over weekend


The CPI (M) polit bureau supported the agitating workers and demanded that the authorities address their issues. The party-affiliated Centre of Indian Trade Unions' general secretary Elamaram Kareem said, "A combination of factors such as the absence of minimum wages, prolonged working hours and poor working conditions resulted in this spontaneous agitation by the workers of Noida. The increase in fuel price due to the war and the related price rise of essential commodities added to their misery. Instead of trying to browbeat them and making baseless allegations, the UP government must hold talks and find an amicable solution to the demands of these workers."