UP reveals contract gaps for workers

Factory workers in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, protested in mid-April after demanding higher wages, weekly offs and fixed duty hours. The unrest pushed a long-running labour issue into public view. (cnbctv18.com) (thehindu.com) The protests turned violent on April 13 in Noida Phase 2, with vehicles damaged and stone pelting reported. Police said the situation was under control and promised workers would not lose jobs for joining the protest. (cnbctv18.com) Workers said the dispute was not only about a wage hike. They raised complaints about delayed pay, excessive working hours, poor workplace facilities and harassment. (cnbctv18.com) (thehindu.com) The numbers behind those complaints are stark in Uttar Pradesh. The Hindu’s analysis of Periodic Labour Force Survey data said 67.8% of regular workers in the State had no written contract in 2025. (thehindu.com) The same analysis said 62.4% of regular workers in Uttar Pradesh were not eligible for paid leave and 59.2% lacked any specified social security benefit. It found 46.3% were missing all three at once: contract, paid leave and social security. (thehindu.com) Nationally, the pattern is not limited to one State. In 2025, about 58.2% of workers had no written contract, 51.7% lacked social security benefits and 47.3% were not eligible for paid leave, according to the same PLFS-based analysis. (thehindu.com) That gap sits inside a labour market that can look formal on paper and informal on the shop floor. The National Statistics Office says the PLFS is the government’s main recurring survey for measuring employment, unemployment and job conditions. (pib.gov.in) Another data series points to why employers increasingly use this model. The Annual Survey of Industries showed contract workers rose from about 35% of total industrial employment in 2014-15 to 42% in 2023-24, The Hindu reported, citing Annual Survey of Industries data. (thehindu.com) (pib.gov.in) Uttar Pradesh responded after the protests with revised minimum wages effective April 1, 2026. CNBC-TV18 reported monthly rates for 74 scheduled employments at ₹11,313.65 for unskilled workers, ₹12,445 for semi-skilled workers and ₹13,940.37 for skilled workers. (cnbctv18.com) For engineering factories employing 50 or more workers, CNBC-TV18 reported higher monthly rates of ₹13,224 for unskilled workers, ₹14,521 for semi-skilled workers and ₹16,121 for skilled workers. Workers in Noida argued those revisions still did not match living costs. (cnbctv18.com) (thehindu.com) The immediate clashes in Noida may ease faster than the conditions that fed them. The data show the dispute reached beyond one industrial belt and into how regular work in Uttar Pradesh is still often missing a basic written contract. (thehindu.com)