Gurgaon: Workers at two factories in the city staged separate protests on Thursday, alleging that Haryana govt’s revised minimum wage order was being flouted and that years of experience, skill levels and overtime were being ignored in pay packages.The twin protests — one inside a leather goods unit in Udyog Vihar and the other on the campus of a glass factory in Narsingpur — come barely weeks after wage-related labour unrest turned violent in Noida and Manesar and raised concerns over simmering tension on factory floors again.At the Udyog Vihar leather unit, around 200 workers went on strike and began a sit-in inside the premises. Their primary allegation was that the management had collapsed all categories — helpers, unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers — into one wage bracket and denied them the differentiated pay mandated under the revised structure.Kamlesh Kumar, a worker at the factory, said employees had repeatedly asked the company management to implement the 35% hike in minimum wages announced by the state, but were ignored. “Officials are telling us to either work on the same pay or leave. How can we leave? We have EMIs and rent to pay,” he added.Others said the dispute goes beyond basic wages.Md Tabrez alleged that labourers were being made to work 12 to 16 hours a day, including Sundays, without overtime being paid at the legal rate. “Unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers are all being treated as one category. Moreover, we are all being paid less than the mandated wages,” he added.Karan Kumar said overtime was also being wrongly calculated. “It should be paid at double the regular wage and calculated on the basis of 24 working days in a month. Instead, it is being worked out over 31 days. So, we are losing money,” he added.Miraz, another worker, said the protest was continuing inside the factory because employees believed the company was refusing to follow the govt’s direction on wages.At the glass factory in Narsingpur, workers protested outside the gate over similar issues. Deepak Kumar, one of them, said employees with more than 20 years of experience were earning about Rs 15,000 a month, while those with less than five years of service were getting nearly Rs 12,500. “We have been asking the company to implement the revised minimum wages, but it has refused,” he said.The state govt raised minimum wages by 35% across worker categories with effect from April 1 and asked the labour department to ensure compliance. Additional labour commissioner (Gurgaon) Kushal Kataria did not respond to repeated calls and messages seeking comment on the protests and allegations.
