Dr Asangba Tzudir
The Nagaland State Human Rights Commission (NSHRC) taking a strong note of the wages situation in Nagaland while also comparing with the minimum wages in the other states of North East, has issued recommendations for the revision of minimum wages for employees and workers under the Nagaland State Government considering the prolonged stagnation of wage revisions in the state and which is already a suo-moto case.
The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 also mandates both the state and the central govt. to periodically fix, review, and revise the minimum wages of workers employed in scheduled employments within their jurisdictions, and the last revision for the Government of Nagaland was done in 2019.
While there is no such fixed time frame for the periodical fixing, reviewing and revision of the minimum wage, it should be done according to the price inflation and the cost of maintaining a bare minimum quality of life. The last revision for the state set the daily wages for unskilled workers at Rs 176, semi-skilled workers at Rs 210, and skilled workers at Rs 235. It is not only very low but also the lowest among the North eastern states. The wage of even the skilled workers is not even enough to buy a kilo of pork which has already attained a royal price.
Five years has passed by without any revision and the Nagaland State Human Rights Commission has served a timely reminder while also highlighting the need to protect the rights of workers in consideration of the situation, and which is an outright exploitation of the daily wage workers and stated that, “If a state government does not pay its employees/workers at least to meet their basic needs, it would amount to exploitation and denial of right to live with dignity.” This can only mean ‘animalization of beings’ at a time when the world is moving ahead with the changing times and where delivering equity, justice and quality of life are of paramount importance as they are important parameters of growth.
The quality of life is a loaded term postulated well in theory but in praxis it has not been considered in essence. This also elucidates the ‘politics of language’ that marginalizes certain sections of people while removing them from enjoying at least a certain quality of life. This language of politics does not have a human face that would speak equity, justice and quality life for everyone.
Far removed from salary is the wages, and the present daily wages condition only highlights exploitation and animalization of beings even where there are provisions. Nonetheless, very close to wages is ‘fixed pay’ employees having defeated the very spirit of ‘equal work and equal pay.’ The situation also attests to the cow analogy where obviously a cow will give good quantity and quality milk when fed well with fresh grass. It presents two situations where you have workers that produce or work according to their pay, and also workers who are made to work at par with the rest. Often, many are left with no choice but to work like donkeys just to manage their survival while getting exploited. The need for survival far outweighs the considerations for quality of life and well-being.
In context, there is no place for human exploitation and more so in the development of a just society. As such, the Government of Nagaland is prayed to shed the language of politics that exploits certain people having ‘detached’ by way of denial of their rights, and shift towards an urgent understanding of the need to review and revise the wages so also of the fixed paid employees of the government.
(Dr Asangba Tzudir writes guest editorial for The Morung Express. Comments can be emailed to asangtz@gmail.com)
