SRINAGAR, August 6, 2025 : Senior PDP leader and Pulwama MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Para has appealed to the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court to intervene in ensuring the proper implementation of the Minimum Wages Act across government departments in the Union Territory.
In a petition addressed to Chief Justice Arun Palli, Para highlighted the plight of casual, seasonal, need-based, and regular workers who, he said, continue to face exploitation due to non-enforcement of wage norms mandated by law.
“As a public representative, I’ve received numerous complaints about the denial of rightful wages despite the government’s revision of wage rates for skilled, unskilled, highly skilled, and ministerial workers. Many labourers claim they are not receiving the revised ₹300 per day wage,” Para stated.
He added that despite his efforts to obtain documentation related to the new wage structure and data on eligible workers, the information was not provided by the concerned departments.
Para urged the Chief Justice to seek a status or action-taken report from the administration, stressing that the denial of fair wages violates the workers’ fundamental rights under Articles 15 and 21 of the Constitution.
“The State has a moral and constitutional responsibility to ensure that its workforce is paid dignified and just wages. The continued non-compliance is a breach of their right to equality, dignity, and fair opportunity,” he wrote.
The PDP MLA called for immediate judicial intervention to uphold the legal and constitutional protections for labourers serving in government departments across Jammu and Kashmir.
