The Dhami government has delivered a major boon to over 300,000 workers across Uttarakhand’s industries, engineering units, and private and scheduled establishments. While the minimum wage for workers in industries and engineering units has been revised after a gap of 20 years, the Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA) for workers in private and scheduled establishments has been fixed at ₹518 following a wage revision.
Following the approval of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, new minimum wage rates have been established for engineering units and industries employing 50 or more workers. These rates are deemed effective from April 1, 2026. According to a notification issued by Secretary Sridhar Babu Addanki, the wage revision for engineering units had been pending for approximately the last 20 years.
A tripartite committee, chaired by the Secretary of Labor, was constituted comprising representatives from the government, employers, and labor organizations. Following a consensus reached among all parties during a meeting held on April 27, 2026, the Governor granted approval to the new wage rates. The notification further clarifies that the Central Government’s Code on Wages, 2019, has been brought into effect. The process for the promulgation of the Code on Wages Rules, 2026, is currently underway. In the future, wage revisions will be conducted in accordance with these new regulations.
The New Rates Will Be as Follows:Category – New Wage (Including VDA)Unskilled – ₹13,800Semi-skilled – ₹15,000Skilled – ₹16,900
Dearness Allowance Increased for Workers in Private Establishments
The minimum wage for workers in private establishments was previously announced on March 15, 2024. At that time, for cities within the state with a population of 100,000 or more, the minimum wage was set at ₹12,539 for unskilled workers, ₹13,280 for semi-skilled workers, ₹14,023 for skilled workers, ₹15,275 for Category I clerical staff, and ₹14,340 for Category II clerical staff. Similarly, in the remaining parts of the state, the monthly minimum wage was fixed at ₹12,391 for unskilled workers, ₹13,110 for semi-skilled workers, and ₹13,838 for skilled workers; within the clerical category, the wage was set at ₹15,035 for Grade I and ₹14,139 for Grade II. Meanwhile, Labor Commissioner Prakash Chandra Dumka has announced the Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA) for employees working in these 57 scheduled establishments. These rates will also come into effect from April 1. Employees across all categories will be entitled to an additional Variable Dearness Allowance of ₹518 per month. This will benefit workers in shops and commercial establishments, road construction and stone-crushing units, private clinics, hospitals and medical stores, hotels, restaurants and private educational institutions, petrol pumps and automobile workshops, brick kilns, dairy and bakery industries, among others.
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