"Model" Gujarat agricultural wages one of the lowest in India, gender gap is market driven: Union ministry report

Source: Labour Bureau, Shimla

By Rajiv Shah
A top Government of India document has said that, in “model” Gujarat, the real wages of both male and female agricultural workers in 2016-17 were worse than most major Indian states. At Rs 223 per day, Gujarat’s male agricultural wages were lower than all but three of 15 major Indian states; and for females agricultural workers, Rs 202, they were worse than all but five of 15 major Indian states.
The document, “Report of the Committee on Alignment of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) Wages with Minimum Agricultural Wages: July 2017”, released by the Ministry of Rural Development, quotes the Labour Bureau, Shimla, based on the data obtained during July-May 2016-17.
While Gujarat's agricultural wages for both male and female workers is are lower than those in Bihar, Assam and West Bengal, the highest per day agricultural wages during the year were being paid in Kerala, Rs 661 for males and Rs 494 for females. The all-India average of the real agricultural wages for males was Rs 270, and Rs 210 for females, much higher than those prevailing in Gujarat.
Interesting though it may seem, the main reason for the document to provide separate agricultural wages for and females in major 15 states is to justify its argument in favour of NREGA wage rates, which it insisted cannot be on par those stipulated under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. Pointing towards the gap between male and female agricultural wages despite the existence of the Minimum Wages Act, the document says, “The minimum agricultural wages, though notified by the state governments, are hard to enforce especially in the case of women workers.”
Against this backdrop, the document insists, “On the other hand, the wages under NREGA, paid by the states, are enforced and enforceable, and no discrimination exists between male and female worker wage rate.” But on the other, as opposed this, “the market reality of agricultural wages” is such that “wage rates for female workers at all-India level were 78% of the male workers.”

Source: Labour Bureau, Shimla

“In some states, like Tamil Nadu, women workers earn just over half of male workers’ wages. In Karnataka and Kerala, women workers received only 65.22% and 73.56% of the male workers’ wages”, the document says in order to “support” its argument why the Minimum Wages Act is not enforceable for NREGA workers.

Strongly disapproving such an approach, which in fact is one of many (click HERE to read), well-known advocacy group, NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, the apex body of tens of organizations fighting for implementing minimum wages for NREGA workers, argues, has characterized it as “the most incomprehensible and unconstitutional justification.”
“The committee seems to imply that in so far as both women and men workers receive the same wages under NREGA, this justifies a wage rate lower than the agricultural minimum wage”, the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha says.
The Morcha argues, “Economically unviable wages are likely to lead to a significant reduction in the viability of NREGA as a law and programme.”
It adds, “Given the demand-driven nature of the employment guarantee programme, this may be the actual intention of the government by fixing abysmally low wages as it will allow it to keep the expenditure on NREGA more or less constant in money terms but reduce it in real terms.”

“However”, the Morcha continues in a statement, “It is quite likely that this will result in illegal contractualisation of NREGA works, and the large-scale fudging of records in order to hire workers at market wages, and cope and “adjust” their wages to the sub minimum wages on paper.”

Comments

From snowstorms to heatwaves: India’s alarming climate shift in 2025

By Dr. Gurinder Kaur* Climate change is no longer a future concern—it is visibly affecting every country today. Since the beginning of 2025, its effects on India have become starkly evident. These include unseasonal snowfall in hill states, the early onset of heatwaves in southern regions, a shortening spring season, and unusually early and heavy rainfall, among other phenomena.

Priced out of life: The silent crisis in India's healthcare... who pays attention, and who takes responsibility?

By Aysha* Manisha (name changed) has been living with a disease since the birth of her third child—over ten years now—in the New Seemapuri area of North East Delhi. She visited GTB Hospital, where a doctor told her that treatment would cost ₹50,000, as the hospital would charge for the cost of an instrument that needs to be implanted in her body. Several NGOs have visited her home, yet she has received no support for treatment and continues to live with the illness. Manisha is divorced, without access to ration or pension, and lives with her three children by begging outside a temple.

'Incoherent, dogmatic': Near collapse of international communist movement

By Harsh Thakor* The international communist movement today lacks coherence or organizational unity. Many groups worldwide identify as communist, Marxist-Leninist, or Maoist, but most promote dogmatism, reformism, or capitulation, using revolutionary rhetoric. Some trace their origins to historical betrayals, like Trotsky’s efforts to undermine the Soviet socialist transition or the 1976 coup in China that restored a bourgeoisie under Deng Xiaoping. Others focus on online posturing rather than mass engagement. Small communist organizations exist in places like Turkey, South Asia, and the Philippines, where Maoist-led struggles continue. No international forum unites them, and no entity can forge one.

Vishwamitri river revival? New report urges action on pollution, flood risks, wildlife protection

By A Representative The Vishwamitri Committee, formed by the Gujarat State Human Rights Commission, has submitted two supplementary reports on June 5, 2025, detailing efforts to rejuvenate the Vishwamitri River in Vadodara, considered Gujarat's cultural capital. The reports (click here and here ) respond to directives from a May 26, 2025, GSHRC hearing. Comprising environmentalists, urban planners, and zoologists like Neha Sarwate, Rohit Prajapati, Dr. Ranjitsinh Devkar, Dr. Jitendra Gavali, and Mitesh Panchal, the committee focuses on mitigating pollution, stabilizing riverbanks, managing flood risks, and preserving biodiversity, particularly for crocodiles and turtles.

Honouring Birsa Munda requires resisting the loot of natural resources

By Raj Kumar Sinha* The legacy of Dharti Aaba Birsa Munda is inseparable from the struggle to protect indigenous land, identity, and rights. On June 9, as we commemorate Shaheed Diwas (Martyrs’ Day), it is imperative to reflect not only on his life but also on the ongoing injustices faced by tribal communities in the name of “development.”

Victim to cricketing politics, Alvin Kalicharan was a most organized left handed batsman

By Harsh Thakor* On March 21st Alvin Kalicharan celebrates his 75th birthday. Sadly, his exploits have been forgotten or overlooked. Arguably no left handed batsman was technically sounder or more organized than this little man. Kalicharan was classed as a left-handed version of Rohan Kanhai. Possibly no left-handed batsmen to such a degree blend technical perfection with artistry and power.

Sewer deaths 'systemic crimes' rooted in caste-based oppression, economic marginalization

By Sanjeev Kumar* Despite repeated government claims that manual scavenging has been abolished in India, the relentless spate of deaths among sewer and septic tank workers continues to expose a deeply entrenched reality of caste-based discrimination, systemic neglect, and institutional failure. A press release issued by the Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) paints a harrowing picture of hazardous conditions faced by sanitation workers across the country—conditions that routinely lead to fatal outcomes with little to no accountability.

The only professional in Indian horse racing history to win over 1,000 races both as jockey and as trainer

By Harsh Thakor* Pesi Shroff is perhaps the most visible face of Indian horse racing. He seamlessly carried forward the legacy of his cousin Karl Umrigar, who tragically lost his life in an accident. In many ways, Pesi became a symbolic reincarnation of Karl’s aspirations, taking Indian racing to greater heights and establishing records that remain unbroken to this day.

Mumbai jetty project: Is Colaba residential associations' outrage manufactured?

By Gajanan Khergamker When the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) filed an affidavit before the Bombay High Court defending its long-planned public jetty project, it did more than just respond to a writ petition by a Colaba Residents Association. It exposed, albeit inadvertently, a far more corrosive phenomenon festering beneath the surface of urban civil life across India—a phenomenon where residential associations, many unregistered and some self-professed custodians of ‘public sentiment,’ conspire to stall governance under the veil of representation.

Search This Blog