Bhubaneswar: The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) Odisha welcomes the decision of the Government of Karnataka to substantially increase minimum wages across scheduled employments in the state. It is reported that wages have been raised by an average of nearly 60 percent covering more than 80 categories of employment, ranging from Rs.19,300 to Rs.25,700 per month for the unskilled workers in Karnataka. AITUC sends its heartiest greetings to the Trade Unions in Karnataka whose consistent efforts and persistent struggles have borne fruits.
AITUC considers this not as just a labour welfare measure but a sound economics. Economic growth cannot be built on depressed wages and precarious work. For decades, neoliberal policy makers have justified low wages through the false narrative of inflation control. This was manipulative economic dogma of the capitalist system.
Aggregate demand remains the real engine of growth. When working people have greater incomes, consumption rises, production expands, employment grows, and small businesses flourish across the economy.
Karnataka government’s order has challenged the neo liberal argument that low wages and austerity automatically produce growth. Sustainable growth cannot be built on corporate tax concessions and cheap labour. An economy grows when wealth circulates among the people, not when it is concentrated in the hands of a few corporations. This will help Karnataka to embark on a real growth model.
AITUC appreciates this progressive move as a welcome shift towards a welfare-oriented and demand-driven economic approach that recognises workers not as expendable costs but as creators of wealth and consumers who sustain the economy itself.
AITUC urges upon the Union Government and all State Governments with underline to Odisha to take the right and timely cue from the Karnataka government to revise minimum wages nationally, ensure living wages indexed to inflation. The Enhancement of wages like Karnataka can help Odisha to prevent migration, Which is a major Social issue in Odisha due to low rate of wages & non availability of job, though it has largest mineral exploration in the country. AITUC in unequivocal terms reiterates that a humane economy and a strong domestic market are impossible without strengthening the working class. Karnataka model should set the benchmark for all to emulate.
