A Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA) is revised on the basisof Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW). The aim of DearnessAllowance is boost the take-home income to counter the effects of inflation forthe employees of the governments.
A hike has been announced in the daily wages using VDA ofthose employed in the scheduled employment under the authority of the centralgovernment. For this, the data of CPI-IW for the months of July to December2020 was used.
It must be clarified that the regular Central GovernmentEmployees do not come under VDA, they come under Dearness Allowance (DA). TheDA hike for the regular employees is pending from January 2021. For them, the changesare expected to be announced in June.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment announced, "TheVDA is revised on the basis of average Consumer Price Index for industrialworkers (CPI-IW) a price index compiled by Labour Bureau. The average CPI-IWfor the months of July to December 2020 was used for undertaking the latest VDArevision."
Workers in the railway administration, mines, oil fields,ports and other sectors in the central government come under the ambit of this change.
The hike will be applicable retrospectively from April 1,2021. Further, the benefit will be equally applicable to all contractual andcasual workers.
The cumulative benefit is expected to be an increase in therange of Rs 2,000 to 5,000 per month.
Specifically, unskilled mine workers working on the groundwill draw Rs 431 per day, those working underground will draw Rs 539 per day.Highly skilled mine workers working on ground will now draw Rs 752 per day, andthose working underground will draw Rs 840 per day.
Similar changes have been made for other endeavours acrossskill categories like agriculture, building and construction, sweeping andcleaning, watch and ward, loading and unloading.
The Union Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Gangwarshared notion that the hike in the VDA is also meant to benefit these workersin the trying times of pandemic COVID. The enforcement of the Minimum Wages Actin the central sphere is ensured through the offices of the Chief LabourCommissioner (Central).