The Congress on Thursday took a jibe at the BJP-led government at the Centre over the wages of labourers, claiming that it has declined under the ruling dispensation.

The party also said that time has come for a nationwide minimum wage of Rs 400 per day.

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Congress General Secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh said, “Multiple data sources, including the government’s own official statistics, are unanimous in showing that workers can buy less today than they could 10 years ago. A combination of slow wage growth and back-breaking inflation has caused an unprecedented decline in real wages (wages adjusted for price rise).”

Referring to the Labour Bureau’s Wage Rate Index, he said, “Real wages for labourers stagnated between 2014-2023, and in fact declined between 2019-2024.”

Citing Ministry of Agriculture’s Agricultural Statistics, Ramesh, who is the Congress MP in Rajya Sabha, said, “Under Dr Manmohan Singh, real wages for agricultural labourers grew at 6.8 per cent each year. Under Mr (Narendra) Modi, real wages for agricultural labourers declined by -1.3 per cent each year.”

Referring to the Periodic Labour Force Survey Series, he claimed that average real earnings over time have stagnated between 2017 and 2022 across all employment types like salaried workers, casual workers, and self-employed workers.

Ramesh also cited Centre for Labour Research and Action and said, “Real wages of brick kiln workers have stagnated or declined between 2014 and 2022. Brick kilns involve intensive labour and are a low-paying work of last resort for India’s poorest.”

“To deliver justice to our shramiks, and to dispel this cycle of stagnant wages, the INC had guaranteed a nationwide minimum wage of Rs 400 per day of work in its Nyay Patra (manifesto Lok Sabha polls),” he said.

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the MP said, “The self-anointed non-biological PM has been delivered a stinging rebuke by voters in his efforts to reach 400 paar in the Lok Sabha. The Union Budget offers him the chance to achieve what the INC has called asli 400 paar. A nationwide minimum wage of Rs 400 per day is an idea whose time has come.”