Maharashtra Orders Revised Minimum Wages and Arrears Recovery for Beedi Workers
MUMBAI — The Maharashtra government has directed the immediate implementation of revised minimum wages for beedi workers and ordered authorities to begin recovering wage arrears and differences in pay, Labour Minister Akash Fundkar announced. The administrative order follows sustained efforts by the minister to resolve the long-pending minimum wage issue for workers in the tobacco and beedi manufacturing industry who are covered under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
The decision was finalized after the Labour Department held several meetings with various workers’ and employers’ organisations to examine the wage structure. Following these discussions, the Law and Judiciary Department subsequently clarified that the minimum wage rates originally notified on November 10, 2014, remain legally valid. The department confirmed that there is no stay preventing the implementation of those revised rates.
Accordingly, the state government has directed the Labour Commissioner to ensure full implementation of the revised wages, including the dearness allowance, for the period covering January 1 to June 30, 2026. Authorities have also been instructed to initiate the recovery of pending dues for the affected workers immediately.
Under the revised daily wage structure, compensation has been split across two regional zones. In Zone I, which covers municipal corporation areas across the state, workers are entitled to a total daily wage of Rs 379. This figure comprises Rs 210 in basic wages and Rs 169 in dearness allowance for rolling 1,000 beedis.
In Zone II, which covers all areas falling outside municipal corporation limits, workers will receive a total of Rs 361 per day for rolling 1,000 beedis. This rate consists of a basic wage of Rs 192 alongside the Rs 169 dearness allowance.
The government’s decision to enforce these rates is expected to provide relief to thousands of beedi workers operating across Maharashtra, with officials instructed to initiate the arrears recovery process without delay.
