Road blockades, clashes as workers protest revised minimum wages in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh

April 2026 protests over minimum wages in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh spread from factory gates to highways, police barricades and industrial corridors. In Noida, workers demanding higher pay blocked roads, set vehicles on fire and drew a heavy police response on April 13, according to The Hindu and the Times of India. In Haryana, demonstrations in Faridabad, Manesar and other industrial hubs followed the state’s wage revision, with workers saying the new rates were too low and unevenly enforced. The unrest pushed both state governments into public negotiations, interim wage announcements and wider law-and-order deployments. ### Why did the protests break out after wages were revised? Haryana’s cabinet approved revised minimum wages on April 8, with retrospective effect from April 1, and fixed the new minimum at ₹15,220 a month for unskilled workers, according to the Times of India and The Tribune. The revised Haryana range ran up to ₹19,425 for highly skilled workers. (thehindu.com) Workers and unions said that increase did not settle the dispute. The Centre of Indian Trade Unions, or CITU, wrote to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on April 11 demanding ₹23,196 instead of about ₹15,200, saying that figure had been recommended by the State Minimum Wage Committee on December 29, 2025. CITU general secretary Jay Bhagwan said the last revision had been implemented on November 1, 2015, and argued the next revision due in October 2020 had been delayed for years. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) ### Where did the clashes turn violent? Noida saw the most visible violence on April 13. The Hindu reported that factory workers gathered at multiple locations including Sector 62, and some protesters pelted stones and set a vehicle on fire. The protest caused major traffic jams in Noida and adjoining areas, and police deployed senior officials and additional personnel across industrial zones in Gautam Buddha Nagar district. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Manesar in Haryana also saw clashes. The Tribune reported that protesters there damaged property, pelted stones at police vehicles and set a police motorcycle on fire after police tried to disperse the crowd. More than 20 workers were reported injured in that confrontation, including at least one person with a serious head injury. (thehindu.com) Faridabad and Palwal were hit by road blockades. The Times of India reported that workers in Sarai Khawaja tried to block a service road along the Delhi-Agra Highway near a Motherson facility, while an earlier blockade near Prithla village in Palwal had paralysed traffic for hours. Police said 23 protesters were detained in Faridabad after about 1,000 workers from a morning shift gathered near the factory around 8 a.m. (tribuneindia.com) ### What were workers saying they were paid? Noida workers told The Hindu they were earning between ₹11,000 and ₹13,000 a month for 10- or 12-hour shifts and had gone years without an increment. One worker, Babita Singh, said it was difficult to survive and support a family on that pay. Another worker, Adarsh Tiwari, alleged his employer showed a higher salary on paper than what he actually received. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Faridabad workers told the Times of India they were being made to work up to 16 hours a day for about ₹11,000 a month. Some labour posts and union demands also called for full statutory benefits, including ESI and EPF coverage, legal overtime rates and payment practices that left a digital record. CITU’s letter specifically sought ESI/EPF for all workers and double wages for overtime work as required by law. (thehindu.com) ### How did Uttar Pradesh respond after the Noida unrest? Uttar Pradesh announced an interim wage hike on April 14, one day after the Noida violence. The Hindu reported that unskilled workers in Noida and Ghaziabad would receive a 21% increase, taking the minimum monthly wage from ₹11,313 to ₹13,690, while workers in municipalities would get ₹13,006 and workers in other parts of the state ₹12,356. The increase was made effective from April 1. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The state also said it would begin a formal wage-setting process. The Hindu reported that the government planned to form a Wage Board the following month after engaging stakeholders. Times of India’s live coverage cited Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner Deepak Kumar as saying discussions with workers had begun on April 13 and would continue. (thehindu.com) ### What were unions asking for beyond the headline wage number? CITU’s April 11 letter asked Haryana to notify the committee-backed ₹23,196 wage, withdraw Section 163 restrictions in Manesar and Gurgaon, stop police action, release detained workers and cancel FIRs filed during the protests. The unions also sought compensation and medical care for injured workers, subsidised LPG supply, overtime pay at double rate and social-security coverage. (thehindu.com) Uttar Pradesh’s next formal step is the proposed Wage Board process cited by The Hindu, while Haryana’s dispute still centered on whether the April 8 revision would be replaced or supplemented by the higher committee figure. As of April 15, officials in Faridabad said industries had been directed to inform workers that Haryana’s revised wages were effective retrospectively from April 1, and talks with workers in Noida were continuing. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com 1) (timesofindia.indiatimes.com 2)