State government to revisit minimum wages notified for 84 scheduled employments?

Just over a month after the revision of minimum wages for 84 scheduled employments was notified, the Karnataka government is learnt to be keen on revisiting the revised minimum wages in light of opposition from industries bodies.

Preliminary meeting

The proposed minimum wages is expected to be revisited by the Cabinet, which will discuss the consequences of the minimum wage revision and legal standing before a decision is made. It is learnt that a preliminary meeting to this effect has already taken place involving officials from Departments of Finance, Commerce and Industries, and Labour, following which the Labour Department is learnt to be preparing a Cabinet note.

The proposed minimum wages per month ranges from ₹19,300 for an unskilled worker in Zone 3 to ₹31,114 for a highly skilled worker in Zone 1. Over the past few months, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, which witnessed labour unrest, have revised minimum wages.

The notification for revised wages, which is coming after a gap of nine years, was issued on May 22, 2026, and has been widely welcomed by trade unions. The revised wages, which is around 40% more, is expected to provide relief to over one crore households affected by price rise in Karnataka. However, the industries bodies have termed the hike to be too steep and have expressed fear of flight of capital from Karnataka. Petitions against the notification are currently being heard by the Karnataka High Court. The court, however, has not stayed the notification.

The Labour Department and trade unions have pointed out that the last revision in 2016-17, when minimum wages were revised by 71% to 91% for 37 scheduled employments, had been upheld by the High Court.

Grey area

Sources said that the Labour Department is preparing a note on the issue to be presented before the Cabinet. “The contention is that the minimum wages were notified without Cabinet approval. That is why the matter is going to the Cabinet. However, the Labour Department’s contention is that it has gone through the minimum wages committee, which is independent. Whether it should have been brought before the Cabinet or not is in a grey area,” the sources explained.

Speculations have been rife about the review of the notified minimum wages for the past few weeks, and it is yet to be implemented in majority of private sector industries. According to the Labour Department, the revised wages have been implemented by State-run boards and corporations while unions claim that a number of industries are expected to implement minimum wages in July.

After consultations

“The minimum wages revision has been a long and thoughtful consultative process involving all stakeholders, including employers, employees, trade union and government representatives, including Labour, Commerce and Industries, and Finance departments. Opportunities were given to every stakeholder involved to raise objections in the State Minimum Wages Advisory Committee,” said All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) secretary M. Satyanand.

He pointed out that the rates were arrived at after studying the price rise data on food, clothing and housing across 16 centres in the State as per the norms laid down by the Supreme Court in the Raptakos Brett case. “Any move to review or withdraw the final notification will be blatantly illegal as per an earlier order of the High Court’s division bench. We will take to the streets if the hard-fought benefits are affected,” he said.