Activists said that as workers are unable to meet minimum expenses for their families, their debt burden continues to mount. | Photo credit: ANI
Union activists, unorganized workers and civil rights activists in Jaipur on Thursday (May 14, 2026) demanded a revision of minimum wages in Rajasthan so that workers can earn a “dignified livelihood”. Rajasthan ranks among the states with the lowest minimum wage rates.
Addressing a state-level convention at the Samagra Seva Sangh headquarters, activists said the current wage rates were insufficient to cover basic necessities such as food, healthcare, education, rent and transport. As workers are unable to meet the minimum expenses of their families, their debt burden continues to grow.
Speakers at the convention demanded raising the minimum wage to ₹26,000 per month and incorporating the true rate of inflation and cost of living into the wage determination process. The resolution stated that the variable poverty allowance should be reviewed regularly as part of wage increases and the minimum wage reviewed every six months.
It prompts you to set up a panel
Several speakers highlighted the problems of silicosis infection at work, insecure employment, delayed wage payments and weak enforcement of labor rights. The resolution proposed the establishment of a People’s Workers’ Commission to make recommendations to the government and the Minimum Wage Struggle Front to formulate future strategies and lead a nationwide dialogue and struggle.
While Center of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) state president Ravindra Shukla said the current minimum wage rates in Rajasthan are against workers, All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) general secretary Kunal Rawat said the failure to provide an adequate wage hike, despite rising inflation, is a direct attack on workers’ lives.
Nikhil Dey of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) said that the issue of minimum wage is not only economic but it is a matter of rights to dignity and equality enshrined in the Constitution. “If workers are not given a living wage, the discourse of social justice and democracy will remain incomplete,” Mr Dey said.
Samagra Seva Sansthan president and Gandhian thinker Sawai Singh said the true identity of a democratic society is determined by the respect and justice accorded to its workers. People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) President Kavita Srivastava said that although the unorganized workers worked in precarious conditions, their rights and social security were consistently ignored.
The convention highlighted the fact that states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana and Delhi have set minimum wages significantly higher than Rajasthan. “The inequality faced by the hard-working laborers of Rajasthan is of grave concern,” the resolution said.
Published – 15 May 2026 09:22 IST
