The year 2011 had seen a spurt in the average daily wage of workers in Kerala on account of various factors. At the end of the year, the minimum daily wage of a skilled worker stood at Rs 450 from Rs 350 in the previous year.
This increase is because of the huge the demand-supply gap on various labour fronts, says industry. For example, the daily wage of a mason, who builds the basement of houses and small and medium buildings with rock, edged up to Rs 700 per day. Also, a bus driver now gets Rs 650 and conductors Rs 550-600.
The highest statutory wage fixed by the state government is Rs 351.39 for river sand collection and for its loading and unloading. The wage fixed for agricultural labourer is Rs 200. Nationally, this varies from Rs 156 -232 according to the area and is effective from October, 2011.
However, even at this high rate of wage, the state is facing an acute shortage of labour in skilled segments like masons, carpenters and painting workers. The average daily wage of an unskilled worker now is Rs 400 and for women workers this is Rs 350.
Of late, Kerala is also seeing a good flow of workers, both skilled and unskilled, from other states like Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Mohamed Salim, managing director, Asset Homes, a construction group in Kerala, says there had been a 6 per cent increase in the overall cost of construction due to the increase in wage alone. He attributed the unilateral hike in wages to the labour militancy in Kerala. “We have to carry on with unskilled labourers as there is shortage for skilled workers. This leads to wastage of materials,” he adds.
J Poulose, a construction contractor, gives advance payment to his workers for ensuring regular work at his sites. “I have to also spend huge amount during festival seasons like Onam, Christmas and local festivals to hire workers,” he says.
Hotels
In most parts of Kerala, especially in urban centres, a major chunk of hotel workers is from outside the state in the age group of 10-50 years. A hotel worker now has a wage of Rs 450 and this is even higher for cooks. The minimum accepted wage for a skilled parotta maker is Rs 500 daily.
KU James, a former hotel owner says he has closed down his hotel just because of the labour shortage. “We are ready to give whatever they demand, but we were not getting workers for 2-3 months continuously,” he says. Most of the small hotels are run by the owner and family members because of the high wage cost and irregular attendance of employees.
The daily wage of a carpenter, mason, painter and other skilled workers is in a range of Rs 450-500. The wage structure is higher in the northern part than the southern districts of the state. In the northern Malabar region, the minimum daily wage of a skilled worker is Rs 500. In cities like Kochi, Thrissur and Kozhikode wages are given in advance to ensure the smooth progress of construction and other works. Some contractors even give Rs 20,000 -25,000 in advance for efficient skilled workers.
An official of the labour department says the government has fixed wages for various category of workers. But the market wage structure is double or triple of that. “We cannot proceed legal actions since there are very few complaints and that too in the loading and unloading segment,” he adds.
But workers justify the high wage. They say though the wage is increasing, the cost of living too is going up and at a much faster pace. A worker has to spend Rs 100 daily on food and commutation. Jayan, a lorry driver says for inter-state trips, a major part of his earnings is spent on food, lodging etc.
This increase in wages for the skilled sectors has also led to a shortage of agricultural labourers. Even at a daily wage of Rs 350, very few are interested in working in plantations and paddy fields. This has severely affected paddy farming in Kuttanad and Palakkad.
Farmers now are also shifting to crops like rubber, which are less labour-intensive compared with paddy and spices, in the hill areas. Around 40 per cent of the agricultural labourers in Kerala is from the neighbouring states, especially in Idukki and Palakkad which are the predominantly agriculture-oriented districts.
