Patna, Sept. 30: The Bihar government, in a bid to arrest the trend of migration of labourers, both skilled and unskilled, from the state, today announced a 15 per cent hike in the wages of workers employed in the unorganised sector.

“We have decided on a 15 per cent hike on the wages being paid as on April 1, 2011. The hike would benefit people engaged in 88 kinds of jobs in the unorganised sector,” labour department’s principal secretary Vyasji told The Telegraph.

Vyasji made it clear that it would not applicable be for self-employed workers. The revised wages would be effective from October 1 for people working in various fields of unorganised sector such as agriculture, domestic workers, factories, dairy, road construction, embankment construction, irrigation, restaurants, cinema industry, private security agencies, petrol pump, biscuit industry, poultry farm and others, Vyasji added.

Asked how many people would get benefited from the revised rate of wages, the principal secretary said 93 per cent people in the country work in the unorganised sector, but in Bihar, the number constitutes 98 per cent and it does not include those who are self-employed.

The government has revised the wage for unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled labourers at Rs 144, Rs 150, Rs 183 and Rs 233 per day respectively, whereas Rs 4,134 per month has been fixed for clerical and supervisory jobs.

People working in the agriculture sector (except those involved in crop cutting) would get Rs 138 per day. Tractor drivers/ pump operators would get Rs 4,967 per month whereas tractor and pump attendants, chowkidars would get Rs 3,864 per month.

People working in bidi industry would get a daily wage of Rs 140 for making 1,000 pieces of bidis. Similarly, labourers involved in earthwork would get a minimum wage of Rs 140 per day. Women labourers would get the same wage.

Salon workers have got the maximum hike in the revised wage. “We have given emphasis on people working in salons as their wages have not been increased for the past several years,” said Vyasji, adding that now their wages have been increased from Rs 4 to Rs 15 per shave. Similarly, the wage for hair cutting, which was earlier Rs 7, would be now Rs 20 and a worker would get Rs 25 for both shaving and hair cutting, an improvement of Rs 13 on the earlier Rs 12.

The last wage revision was made in 2008 but after that the government has been increasing variable dearness allowance every six months, he said.