Trade unions are calling for the wage committee to be reconstituted

Hyderabad:Trade unions have intensified their protests against the state government and called for the reconstitution of the Minimum Wage Advisory Board (MWAB) with equal representation of all unions. They claimed the current board was unconstitutional and undemocratic.

The unions organized several protests including a gherao at Karmika Bhavan at RTC junction here.

Central Indian Trade Unions (Citu) general secretary Paladugu Bhaskar criticized the Congress government for composing the board of directors with two members from Intuc, the trade union wing of the Congress, and one from Aituc, a subsidiary of the CPI, while deliberately excluding others became unions such as HMS, BMS and CITU.

Bhaskar also accused the government of bypassing the usual practice of allowing board members to choose their chairman and instead appointing one unilaterally.

The MWAB was established under the Minimum Wages Act of 1948, which requires equal representation of employers and employees in regular employment relationships, along with independent members not exceeding one-third of the total membership.

Although the law does not specifically prohibit the appointment of union-affiliated individuals, appointments were sometimes challenged on union affiliation grounds.

Trade unions are also calling for broader legal reforms to ensure fair wages and better working conditions. The Telangana Domestic Workers Union, for example, has called for introduction of minimum wages, inclusion in schemes such as Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) and Provident Fund (PF), and limits on working hours to improve work-life balance. Minimum wage rates are regularly reviewed, but unions emphasize the need for comprehensive measures to address evolving labor market challenges and inflationary pressures.