The Union Labour Ministry has revised the variable dearness allowance (VDA) for the Central sphere workers on Friday. According to the Ministry, it will benefit 1.5 crore workers in the segment as their minimum wages will increase. The revised wages will be applicable from October 1.

The VDA is revised on the basis of average Consumer Price Index for industrial workers (CPI-IW). The average CPI-IW between January to June was used for undertaking the latest VDA revision, the Ministry said in a statement.

Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav said workers engaged in construction, sweeping and cleaning, loading and unloading, watch and ward, mines and agriculture will get the benefit of the change.

In the construction sector, the revised wages for unskilled workers in A class cities will be ₹654, and for B and C class cities it will be ₹546 and ₹437, respectively. For skilled workers and unskilled supervisors, the wages will be ₹724, ₹617 and ₹512 for A, B and C class cities. For sweeping and cleaning the revised wages will be ₹654, ₹546 and ₹437. Chief Labour Commissioner DPS Negi said VDA in central sphere is revised twice in a year.

Meanwhile, all-India CPI-IW for September was increased by 0.3 points and stood at 123.3. “On one-month percentage change, it increased by 0.24 per cent with respect to previous month (August) compared to an increase of 0.62 per cent recorded between corresponding months a year ago (September, 2020),” the Centre said in a release. The upward pressure came from fuel and light group contributing 0.21 percentage points to the total change. “However, this increase was largely checked by rice, apple, petrol for vehicle, etc. putting downward pressure on the index,” the release added.

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