AA Edit | Noida Unrest a Warning Sign

The sudden outbreak of violence in Noida, an industrial area near the national capital, which is part of the country’s largest labour market, shows how growing income gaps are now seriously affecting the poorest workers. More than 40,000 workers said they could not survive on their low pay and tough working conditions, and their frustration soon turned into chaos with workers from garment export units in the hosiery complex leading the protest.

Tensions had been building for a while over demands for higher wages, but they escalated when neighbouring Haryana announced new minimum wages for unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled workers. Haryana set the minimum wage at over Rs 15,220 per month. This upset Noida workers, who were earning less than workers in Haryana and Delhi, prompting them to demand a minimum salary of Rs 20,000 per month to keep up with rising prices.

A community already suffering with high rents, expensive groceries and stagnant pay, was rendered more anxious by rumours of LPG shortage exacerbated by cylinder hoarding. The UP government acted swiftly to raise the pay for unskilled workers by 21 per cent, which is more a temporary fix than a lasting solution.

The larger problem of there not being enough jobs and existing jobs not paying enough to cover basic living costs for the least earners cannot be ignored for long. India may want to become a global manufacturing leader, but there is new thinking even on the model which chases low paying basic manufacturing jobs as opposed to jobs in the services sector.

The goal cannot rest on a weak foundation, with a cooking gas shortage leading to city-wide unrest. Real changes are required as in minimum wages that keep up with inflation, action against hoarding of essential goods, and a way for workers to be heard without protesting on the streets and destroying public property. Treating the people who build our economy with basic dignity is not just good policy — it is simply the right thing to do.