Does The Minimum Wage Actually Reduce Salaries?
Eight years ago domestic workers were included in the statutory scheduled category of Rajasthan for minimum wages. I would rather say that this is a well intended move, but can barely provide for the basic needs of a domestic worker and her family. The new notification issued by Rajasthan government to fix the minimum wages of a domestic worker at Rs 5,612 per month, for eight hours of work, contradicts the demand put forth by their own government at the Centre, which in August 2015 sought to set it at Rs 9,000 per month as part of a national policy. Why: The notification states that a domestic worker has to be paid Rs 705 per month , per four-member household. Situation faced is that where a worker, who shuttles between three to four households on an average in a day, according to the newly fixed wage will only end up making anywhere between Rs 2,800 and Rs 3,500 per month. In this particular instance, her monthly wage is even lesser than the minimum w...