Several thousand factory workers in industrial hubs of Faridabad and Palwal districts staged protests on Monday to demand that their employers start paying the enhanced minimum wages notified by the state government last week.
Officials said about 3,500 workers from factories that manufacture harness and wiring for automobiles in Faridabad’s Sector-37, and about 4,000 workers of vehicle spare parts manufacturing units at Prithla, Palwal hit the streets on Monday.
Officials said workers in Palwal’s Prithla area also blocked the Agra-Delhi highway for at least two hours, which was later cleared by the police.
A representative of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) said the workers held protests since factory managements had not issued any circulars or notice regarding minimum wage hike even after the Haryana government issued the formal orders raising minimum wages on April 8.
The Haryana government has notified a 35% hike in minimum wages across categories, effective April 1, 2026.
Under the revised structure, wages for unskilled workers have increased from ₹11,274.60 to ₹15,220. Semi-skilled workers will now earn ₹16,780.74, up from ₹12,430.18, while skilled workers’ wages have been raised to ₹18,500.81 from ₹13,704.31. Highly skilled workers will now receive ₹19,425.85, compared to ₹14,389.52 earlier.
A protest to demand implementation of the wage hike turned violent at multiple locations of IMT Manesar on April 9, leaving at least 26 including 12 police personnel injured.
Over 60 workers have been arrested for their involvement in the violence, attacking police, damaging public properties. According to the police, some of those who indulged in the violence had planned to set companies on fire using Molotov cocktails.
Chandra Bhan, one of the protesting workers at Sector-37 in Faridabad, said he has been working as a helper for the last six years in the company at a meagre wage of ₹9,400 per month.
“The company management put up a notice with a minimum wage of ₹15,220 for unskilled workers on Monday only after we started the protest,” he said.
Uday Kant, another worker, said they expected the company to announce their hike after the state government’s notification on April 8. “However, the company management kept ignoring our attempts to know when the wage hike will take place,” he said. Kant said he had been working with the factory’s packaging unit for the last five years for a monthly salary of ₹9,200.
Faridabad deputy commissioner Ayush Sinha said directions have already been issued to all industrial units in the district to communicate the wage hike to their workers as per state government notification effective from April 1.
“We appeal to the workers to not get driven away by rumours or any misinformation being spread by miscreants,” he added.
