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Roughly a month ago, worker strikes began in the Gurugram-Manesar belt of Haryana, which is a major hub of organised industries, including automobiles, in north India. Within a week, the protests had spread to Faridabad, and then to the industrial areas of Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The police came down hard on the workers. This article first describes how the situation evolved, then analyses the underlying causes, before briefly addressing what should have been done.
First, let us understand why the workers went on strike. The strikes were driven by a combination of economic distress and workplace grievances, rather than a single issue. The first was low wages set against rising costs. Many workers in the National Capital Region (NCR) earn Rs 10,000-15,000 a month, which they say is below survival level. They demanded minimum wages of around Rs 20,000-26,000 a month. They essentially made the case that inflation—especially food, rent and cooking gas prices—has worsened living conditions, especially after the US-Israel aggression upon Iran, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz; and that wages had not been revised for years.
The second issue is poor working conditions. There is heavy reliance on contract labour, which offers few protections. The share of contract workers in organised industries has grown sharply. Such workers are hired quite literally through contractors of labour, who take a fee from the principal employer. The result is that whatever wages are agreed on is often eroded. Working hours are long—often 10 to 13 hours a day—with little or no overtime pay. In addition, there is a lack of basic benefits such as Employees’ State Insurance (ESI), Provident Fund (PF) contributions, job security and safety measures. There are also reports of harassment, unsafe facilities, and gender pay gaps. And, of course, wages have not been revised for years in some areas.
Third, the situation must be understood in the context of the growing problem of contract labour in India. The Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s (MoSPI’s) Annual Survey of Industries shows that the share of contract labour in organised industry has risen sharply from 15 per cent to over 40 per cent in the last 30 years. In organised industry, contract labour is governed mainly by the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970. It involves three parties: the principal employer (the factory or company using labour); the contractor, who supplies and supervises workers; and contract worker, who legally remains employee of the contractor.
What one usually sees in NCR factories is ongoing service contracts. The principal employer hires a contractor for a specific service (for example, loading, assembly or housekeeping). The contractor recruits and employs the worker. The contractor pays wages to the worker, while the principal employer pays the contractor a composite amount, covering wages as well as statutory dues (such as PF and ESI contributions) and the contractor’s service charge or margin. Legally, workers must receive their full entitlements (minimum wages, overtime pay and so on); the contractor’s earnings or service charges are separate. Problems arise when contractors underpay workers but bill the employer in full...
This story is part of the May 1-15, 2026 print edition of Down To Earth