A tripartite agreement between the state government, trade unions and industry representatives have led to an increase in monthly wage hike of Rs 1,450 to Rs 2,000 for around 1.5 lakh workers ahead of Durga Puja.
The agreement, covering nearly 200 sponge iron, ferroalloy, induction furnace and rolling mill units, will be effective retrospectively from 1 April 2025 and remain valid until 31 March 2028.
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The stakeholders will meet again at the end of the three-year period to negotiate the next wage revision.
The agreement was finalised at a meeting chaired by Labour Minister Arjun Singh and attended by representatives of the West Bengal Iron and Steel Manufacturers Association, trade unions including CITU, BMS and INTUC, and senior Labour Department officials, including Secretary Rachna Bhagat, Special Labour Commissioner Ashish Sarkar and Additional Labour Commissioner Kingshuk Sinha.
Bengal Labour Minister Arjun Singh said the agreement would benefit around 1.5 lakh workers by increasing monthly wages by about Rs 2,000.
“The pact also introduces enforceable provisions relating to Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Employees’ State Insurance (ESI), gratuity and pollution compliance through coordinated monitoring by the Centre and the state,” he said.
“The wages would be revised again once West Bengal implements the new floor wages under the Wage Code,” he added.
According to the agreement, workers currently receiving less than the notified minimum wages will automatically be brought under the official minimum wage structure from 1 January 2026.
Welcoming the settlement, Ujjwal Chatterjee, West Bengal president of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), said, “The agreement resolved a long-pending wage dispute affecting workers in sponge iron plants, rolling mills, induction furnaces and ferroalloy units.”
BMS National Committee member Joynath Choubey said the negotiations, held on June 29 and July 18, reflected the state’s commitment to balancing industrial growth with workers’ welfare.
Shankarlal Agarwal, president of the West Bengal Iron and Steel Manufacturers Welfare Association, said the wage revision, pending since April 2025, would directly benefit more than 1.5 lakh workers.
“The state government is industry-friendly and our association will continue to cooperate with the government,” he added.
The agreement is expected to benefit workers employed across the state’s major iron and steel manufacturing clusters in West Burdwan, Bankura, Purulia and Jhargram, where sponge iron plants, induction furnaces, rolling mills and ferroalloy units are concentrated.