GREATER NOIDA: The Gautam Budh Nagar’s labour department has denied claims circulating on social media suggesting that a large-scale retrenchment drive in local factories is being planned by officials and also industrial workers in the district are being underpaid, officials said on Thursday.
The clarification came after a series of posts, reportedly being shared since April 13 (when protests turned violent in Noida) alleged that workers employed in industries across Noida and Greater Noida were receiving salaries after arbitrary deductions by factory managements.
Some posts also claimed that the labour office was compiling lists of employees who could be removed from service in an upcoming drive.
Officials rejected all these allegations, terming them misleading and not based on facts.
“We have received information that misleading and objectionable posts are being circulated on social media claiming workers in Gautam Budh Nagar are being paid wages after arbitrary deductions. The notified minimum wages for 74 scheduled employments in the district are already in force, and any claim contrary to this is incorrect,” additional labour commissioner Rakesh Dwivedi said on Thursday in a statement.
The department also specifically addressed claims regarding a possible retrenchment drive, saying no such exercise is underway at present. “Reports suggesting that the labour department is preparing lists of workers for retrenchment or conducting such an exercise are completely false and against facts. Workers and the public should rely only on official information,” the official said.
The statement comes amid heightened attention on labour issues in the district after recent worker unrest and regulatory action involving contractors and factories in Gautam Budh Nagar.
According to the labour department, wages in the district are governed by the minimum rates notified by the Uttar Pradesh government for scheduled employments. These rates apply to 74 categories of employment in Gautam Budh Nagar.
The current monthly minimum wages stand at ₹13,690 for unskilled workers, ₹15,059 for semi-skilled workers and ₹16,868 for skilled workers, said officials.
The labour department has further stated that any suggestion that wages lower than the notified rates were being paid across the 74 scheduled employments, is incorrect.
