Garment exporters of Bangalore have been facing great difficulty in getting labour and now, with effect from 1st April 2014, they are to pay an average of Rs. 1,560 more per month to every worker of the factory, a huge financial burden for the industry already struggling to stay competitive. On the other side, workers were extremely happy as it was the highest ever one time hike of Rs. 60 per day in their minimum wages. It took more than three years in court, after Garment and Textile Workers Union (GATWU) had approached the High Court in 2010 challenging an earlier notification and seeking revision of wages. The High Court in its judgment in March 2013, said that wages should be revised after conducting tripartite talks which included workers, managements and Government representatives.
Going a step further, the Government is also in the process of fixing minimum wages for workers in cloth dyeing and printing units. In the same notification it was announced that now there will be three zones in the state as against the 4 zones existing earlier. These zones, based on location have difference of Rs. 5 to 20 even in the wage of helpers. Though the hike has been done with the consent of representatives of garment industry, it will have a strong negative impact on the industry and especially on small- and medium-level players. Even giants like Madura Fashion & Lifestyle (Aditya Birla Group) are already paying more than minimum wages to its operators but they too claim that it will put heavy impact, as all entry level trainees get minimum wage and they will now get more and as a cascading effect, experienced operators and other staff will ask for more.
On the other side, in North India, Noida-based factories face the heat more this time as just three months ago, in January, there was an increase of Rs. 266 per month for unskilled and Rs. 293 for semi skilled and Rs. 328 for skilled worker, and with effect from 1st April it has again been increased by Rs. 346, Rs.381, Rs. 426 for unskilled, semi skilled and skilled, respectively. Now in Noida, one has to pay minimum Rs. 6,362 to unskilled worker while it was Rs. 5,200 in 2013. Currently, Delhi is leading in highest minimum wages, having seen a recent hike of Rs. 468 per month for unskilled workers. Delhi and Bangalore has a difference of almost 25 per cent in the salary of a helper of a garment unit. Haryana is not behind in the race as from 1st July there will be another hike.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
