The court has ordered the convening of a meeting of the Madhya Pradesh Minimum Wage Advisory Board to fix the minimum wage. It is being said that the state government may now announce a wage increase from next month for over 20 lakh outsourced employees and labourers, excluding textile workers.
Employee organisations and labour unions have expressed happiness over the High Court’s decision and urged the government to immediately increase the wages of the employees. However, textile industry employees and workers will not benefit from this immediately.
The Indore bench of the High Court delivered a significant judgment on Friday in the minimum revised wage case. The court directed the government to determine the minimum wage for textile industry workers within two months. Instructions were given to convene a meeting of the Madhya Pradesh Minimum Wage Advisory Board for this purpose. Thus, the minimum wage for textile employees and workers will be determined separately.
Approximately 4 lakh employees and labourers are employed in the textile industry in the state. Following this decision by the Indore bench of the High Court, a wage increase from next month is being discussed for all other employees and workers, excluding the textile industry. This will benefit approximately 21 lakh outsourced employees and labourers.
The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) opposed the government’s dividing workers into two categories. CITU lawyer Babulal Nagar argued in court, “How did the state government amend this in January 2025 after the stay was lifted? How were the labourers divided into different categories?” The CITU termed the division of workers as incorrect and announced its intention to fight a legal battle against it.
In its decision, the High Court not only directed the determination of the minimum wage for textile employees and workers but also asked when the government would implement it. The government has been instructed to determine the minimum wage, grade, and implementation timeline for labourers within the next two months, according to the prescribed procedure.
