In a significant policy shift, favouring the workers of the unorganised sector, the Delhi government has announced an increase in daily wages by 33 per cent. The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting on 8 March 2009. After the meeting, the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dixit, informed the media that the daily wages of an unskilled worker has been increased from Rs 163 to Rs 203 and that of a semi-skilled worker to Rs 225. The wages for a skilled worker was fixed at Rs 248. Calculating this, on a per-month basis, the wages of an unskilled, a semi-skilled and a skilled worker will be around Rs 5,272, Rs 5,850 and Rs 6,448, respectively. The announcement has brought jubilation among the daily wage earners, most of whom are migrant workers from Bihar, U.P. and Rajasthan. “Ab hum thoda sa achha khana kha sakte hain aur bachchon ko doodh bhi de sakte hain (We can now eat slightly better food and even provide our children with milk),” says Kishorilal, an unskilled worker based in Jamuna Vihar area.

The cabinet has also decided to increase the wages of non-technical and clerical staff. Workers who have not passed the matriculation examination or Class Ten Board exams will fall under the category of semi skilled and will get Rs 225 as per day wages whereas a matriculate will get wages equivalent to a skilled worker (Rs 248). Workers, who are graduates or more, will get Rs 270 per day or Rs 7,020 per month.

This hike makes Delhi the highest payer of daily wages in the country. A hike in the daily wages was deemed necessary in view of the repressive effect that the runaway inflation was having on the lives of the daily wage earners. Also, there were some discrepancies between the minimum wages in Delhi and the wages announced by the central government; the workers engaged in central government projects were earning more than those engaged in Delhi government projects.