Bhubaneswar: CPI(M) today rejected Odisha government's minimum wage announcement and demanded that the amount should be at least Rs 500 per day instead of Rs 200.
"It is a mockery of the poor and working class.
Keeping in view the price rise and inflation, the minimum wage should be at least Rs 500," CPI(M)'s Odisha State Committee secretary Ali Kishore Patnaik said after a party meeting.
The government should understand that it is difficult to make a living with only Rs 200 per day, he said.
Referring to migration of workers from Odisha, the CPI-M leader said it is the primary responsibility of the state government to provide employment to the youths.
He claimed that that at least 30 lakh youths had migrated to other states from Odisha in search of livelihood.
Odisha government had yesterday announced a hike in the minimum wages of skilled, unskilled and semi-skilled workers based on the recommendation of the State Minimum Wage Advisory Committee.