Workers at multiple manufacturing units in Noida's industrial belt protested on the streets on Monday, pressing for an increase in minimum wages, similar to a 35% hike recently notified by the neighbouring Haryana government. Several visuals from the protest captured scores of workers marching through the streets and raising slogans, before the demonstration turned violent.

The protests disrupted factory operations across the Noida-Greater Noida belt, a critical hub for India's garment, electronics and auto parts manufacturing.

“Those who stayed behind, largely workers with no viable option to return, did so banking on their monthly salaries, which typically arrive between the 7th and 10th of the month. When no wage increase came, frustration boiled over," Sham Murti, a member of the Automobile Industry Contract Workers Union (AICWU), told The Core.

He added that the unrest has been building for seven to eight days, fuelled by growing discontent among factory workers who say rising inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) has made current wages increasingly difficult to survive on.

The disruption has been compounded by the aftermath of last month's gas shortage, which prompted labour migration in certain regions as workers returned to their home states.

"The Noida unrest did not emerge in isolation, it was a direct cascading effect of Manesar wage hike. Factory workers talk to each other. When one group gets a wage hike and another doing identical work does not, protests follow," an industry insider told The Core.

Without swift intervention, the unrest could deepen. "We are already seeing labour migrate from Dharuhera (near Rajasthan border) to Manesar (in Haryana), chasing better pay."

AICWU said the protests have spread to Bhiwadi's industrial area in Rajasthan, widening the footprint of the labour unrest.

Motherson Cites Full Compliance

One of the Tier-1 auto component manufacturers, Motherson Group, which was affected by the unrest, pushed back against the characterisation of the protests.

"This is a broader labour issue affecting multiple industries in Noida and some other cities, driven by misinformation being spread about wage revisions," the company said in a statement released on Monday.

It added that its operations remained fully compliant with applicable laws, with no material impact on the company, and that authorities were working closely with industry to restore normalcy.

According to Reuters, police deployed "minimum force" to contain the unrest as UP legislator Narendra Kashyap called on workers to take their demands to the government. Gautam Budh Nagar police said officials were actively counselling protesters to remain peaceful.

The protests add to a growing list of pressures bearing down on the manufacturing sector, which is already grappling with supply chain disruptions, rising input costs and freight burdens stemming from the West Asia conflict.

Haryana’s Wage Hike

Haryana’s Manesar saw protests with factory workers clashing with the police last week as some of the protesters were arrested. The industrial town is home to major auto manufacturers including Maruti Suzuki, as well as a dense network of ancillary units.

The state government of Haryana notified a 35% increase in minimum wages on Thursday, following factory worker protests and work boycotts over rising living costs triggered by the West Asia conflict.

The government raised the monthly minimum wage for unskilled workers to Rs 15,221 per month and semi-skilled workers to Rs 16,781.

For workers falling in the skilled category, the basic minimum rate of wages is now Rs 18,501, and those in the highly skilled category will earn Rs 19,426.

The hike followed sustained protests by workers at several factories in the region, including Honda, Munjal Showa, Richa Industries and Satyam Auto Components.