Kerala to Revamp Private Hospital Staff Wages, Draft Notification Due in a Month
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Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala - The state government has announced plans to issue a draft notification within a month to revise the minimum wages for private hospital employees. Labour Minister V Sivankutty said that the decision was made after talks with the Minimum Wages Committee failed due to non-cooperation from hospital management. Following a meeting of the Private Hospital Industrial Relations Committee, the minister directed the Labour Department to publish the draft in the official gazette. This move comes after a committee constituted in October 2023 collected evidence and held discussions across all 14 districts, but failed to reach a consensus due to management's negative stance. Sivankutty emphasized that the government will invoke Section 5 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, to directly notify revised wages, citing that the current wages, based on a 2013 notification, are insufficient for workers to support their families given the current cost of living. Trade unions have agreed to a 60% wage hike proposal, and the minister assured that the revision will not impose additional financial burdens on hospitals. The proposed revision will consider demands from various professional bodies, including those representing physiotherapists, pharmacists, radiographers, and speech therapists. An additional Labour Commissioner and members of the Private Hospital Minimum Wages Committee were present at the meeting.
