Wage ceiling hike to Rs 25,000 will widen social protection net: Labour Secretary

The revision of the wage ceiling to Rs 25,000 will draw more workers on the margins into the social protection net, Labour Secretary Chandra Bhushan Kumar has said, describing the change as a win-win for all sides.

Speaking on the sidelines of the National Conference on Industrial Relations and Labour & Awards 2026, organised by CII around the theme of reengineering industrial relations and workforce participation in the AI age, Kumar said the higher threshold, combined with minimum wage levels already raised in most states, would widen coverage under the Employees' Provident Fund framework.

That framework, he noted, delivers three benefits at once — provident fund, pension and insurance. Such bundled protection, he said, lends greater stability to the working environment.

Kumar framed the initiative as central to the country's employment goals, calling it an important step for the whole nation and noting that employment is a key element of the push towards Viksit Bharat 2047.

He said the new social protection design is not confined to the organised sector. It also reaches what he described as the modernised sector, including gig and platform workers, extending the safety net beyond conventional employment.

The Labour Secretary said industry representatives at the conference offered inputs on how the new labour ecosystem could be strengthened, and that wider coverage remains possible within it. He added that the framework would bring greater respectability to different segments of the workforce and give workers more certainty about their present and future.

Kumar described the engagement with industry as part of an ongoing process and expressed hope that the dialogue would continue.