The Delhi Government has announced an increase in the minimum wage for workers. The new rates will be applicable from 1st October. Announcing this, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi said that Delhi has the highest minimum wage in the entire country.
| Category | New wages (in Rs.) | Old wages (in Rs.) | Increase (%) |
| Unskilled | 18,066 | 17,494 | 3.26 |
| Semi-skilled | 19,929 | 19,279 | 3.37 |
| Skilled | 21,917 | 21,215 | 3.30 |
Now with the new wages, even a micro unit having only 20 unskilled workers will have an extra burden of Rs. 12,000 per month.
The industry is of the view that irrespective of the hike percentage, the wage increase is going to have a negative impact on the costing of organised garments and trims manufacturers, since they already work on tight margins. Although there are only a few such units in the national capital having a higher number of workers.
Also Read : Minimum wage developments in Garment industry
On the other hand, the major apparel manufacturing industry spread in Gandhi Nagar, Tank Road and nearby areas where more than 5 lakh workers are involved in garment manufacturing and allied activities, will not have any such cost pressure as the work is done on piece rates.
Workers as well as factory owners in these areas, producing garments majorly for the domestic market, prefer to work on piece rates which are decided on a mutual basis.
“I don’t see any impact of the latest wage hike as piece rate has nothing to do with this. Market forces will only decide any increase in piece rate,” shared Sourabh Garg, owner, Sourabh Garments. The firm, known for blazers, produces almost 40,000 blazers per year.
