Around four lakh garment workers from Karnataka are protesting the lack of minimum wage. A number of thousands of workers addressed hand-written postcards and shared details about their companies to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bhommai. More workers will likely send identical postcards in the days ahead.
The workers’ long pending demand is to notify Rs. 445.7 plus variable dearness allowance since 2018.
As per media reports, Prathiba R, President, Garments and Textile Workers Union (GATWU) said, “If the Government does not respond positively and issue a new order at the earliest, we will be forced to take to the streets and boycott work. No politician is concerned about the well-being of garment workers and this should not continue unaddressed.”
She further added that she hopes that the Government will understand garment workers’ plight. “All we are demanding is our right to basic wages.”
The union last year submitted a memorandum at the Chief Secretary’s office demanding that the Government notify new rates that are in line with present standards of living.
The State Government’s labour department was in process of detailed discussions with the industry on this issue and expected to notify the revised rates but it is still not notified.
Also readTamil Nadu State Government creates a committee to recommend minimum wage for workers in textile mills