The myth of ‘unskilled’ labour

1. At a Glance

• Core argument: the label ‘unskilled’ is not a natural feature of a worker. Wage law and employer practice create it and keep it in place, and it decides a worker's wages, benefits and safety. The article says it is a status "the state sustains rather than what naturally arises in society" [1].
• The legal hook: the Code on Wages, 2019 tells governments fixing minimum wages to primarily consider the worker's skill, using four categories: unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, highly skilled [2][4].
• Why it matters: the topic ties together labour codes, minimum and floor wages, occupational safety, migrant workers and the informal sector. These are core GS-III areas (inclusive growth, employment) and GS-II areas (welfare of vulnerable sections).
• Evidence of harm: workers labelled ‘unskilled’ get hurt more often, have more wages stolen, and are more often left out of increments, health benefits and safety training [1].

2. Why in the News

• The Hindu, 15 October 2026, Page 15, Chennai edition: an article by Vasudevan Mukunth, "The myth of ‘unskilled’ labour" [1].
• Earlier in 2026: thousands of industrial workers protested stagnant wages across Noida and New Delhi [1].
• Uttar Pradesh's response: an interim wage revision. The article gives ₹13,690/month for ‘unskilled’ and ₹16,868/month for ‘skilled’ workers, even though both groups face the same inflation [1]. The article calls this an "interim hike", but the figures read like the revised monthly wage rather than the size of the increase.
• Wider context: all four Labour Codes took effect on 21 November 2025 [3]. The Code on Wages (Central) Rules were in draft form, dated 30 December 2025 [6].

3. Background & Evolution

• 1948: the Minimum Wages Act let governments set minimum wages for each scheduled employment. Skill-based rate-setting grew out of this system. The Code on Wages later subsumed the Act [5].
• 8 August 2019: the Code on Wages, 2019 (No. 29 of 2019) was enacted. It combined four laws: the Payment of Wages Act 1936, Minimum Wages Act 1948, Payment of Bonus Act 1965 and Equal Remuneration Act 1976 [2][5].
• Drafting stage: the draft rules classify areas as metropolitan, non-metropolitan and rural, and sort occupations into the four skill categories [4].
• 21 November 2025: the Centre brought all four Labour Codes into force. PIB described the aim as "simplify and streamline labour laws" [3][7].
• 30 December 2025: draft Code on Wages (Central) Rules were published. PRS reviewed them as the "2026" rules [6].
• 2026: wage protests in the NCR and the UP interim wage revision, which kept the skill-based wage gap [1].

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Fact
Parent law	Code on Wages, 2019, Act No. 29 of 2019, dated 8 August 2019 [2][5]
Laws subsumed	Payment of Wages Act 1936; Minimum Wages Act 1948; Payment of Bonus Act 1965; Equal Remuneration Act 1976 [5]
Skill categories	Section 6(6): unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, highly skilled [2][4]
Other factors for minimum wage	Geographical area; arduousness of work [2]
Area classification (draft rules)	Metropolitan, non-metropolitan, rural [4]
Floor wage	Section 9: fixed by the Central Government based on minimum living standards; can differ by geographical area; state minimum wages cannot fall below it [2]
Skill-categorisation review	A committee chaired by the Chief Labour Commissioner advises on changes to skill categorisation (draft rules) [4]
Gaps flagged by PRS	Draft rules give no detailed norms for fixing the floor wage, and do not require periodic revision of it [4]
Codes effective	21 November 2025, all four codes [3]
Nodal ministry	Ministry of Labour & Employment [3]

Data points from the article [1]:

• Finger loss in automotive-sector accidents, 2024 (Safe in India Foundation):
• ‘Unskilled’ workers earning under ₹8,000/month lost 2.27 fingers per accident.

• Skilled workers earning over ₹20,000/month lost 1.54 fingers per accident.

• Wage theft: ‘unskilled’ migrant workers in Kerala's construction and hospitality sectors faced 40% more wage theft than skilled workers. The estimate is from the International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMAD), Thiruvananthapuram; the article uses the name "Keralam".

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Economic

• Being placed in a lower skill category locks in a lower minimum wage. In UP's revision, the unskilled–skilled gap was about ₹3,178/month, even though both groups face the same inflation [1].
• Factories use the ‘unskilled’ label to justify withholding annual increments and health benefits [1].
• The floor wage is meant to set a lower limit, but PRS notes the draft rules give no norms for fixing it and no requirement to revise it [2][4].

Social

• ‘Unskilled’ status falls hardest on migrant workers, construction labourers and sanitation workers. These groups have little legal recourse [1].
• Wage theft: contractors often deny the final month's pay, knowing labourers cannot easily fight back [1].
• Sanitation workers are left out of safety protocols even in hazardous jobs [1].

Occupational Safety / Health

• ‘Unskilled’ workers are put on dangerous power press machines without training or safety measures. The Safe in India Foundation links this to their higher rate of severe injury [1].
• Construction workers are denied personal protective equipment (PPE) [1].

Legal / Constitutional

• Section 6(6) of the Code on Wages writes skill-based wage setting into law, so the hierarchy has a statutory basis [2]. This supports the article's claim that the state sustains the status [1].
• Section 9 (floor wage) is the statutory guard against wages falling too low, but it lacks operational norms [2][4].
• Analytical link: the Directive Principles on a living wage (Article 43) and just and humane conditions of work (Article 42) support the case for minimum-living-standard wages.

Ethical / Governance

• Who classifies? Skill categorisation is done by administrative notification and reviewed by a committee chaired by the Chief Labour Commissioner [4]. Workers have little say in it.
• Treating ‘unskilled’ as a lack of ability hides tacit or experiential skill and the arduousness of the work. The Code itself allows arduousness to be taken into account [2].

Administrative

• The four codes became effective in November 2025, but central rules were still in draft in December 2025 [3][6]. This creates a transition gap.
• Minimum wages are fixed by both the Centre and the states (the "appropriate Government"). The result is a patchwork of rates such as UP's interim revision [1][2].

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• 21 November 2025: all four Labour Codes made effective [3].
• 23 November 2025: PIB backgrounder on the Code on Wages, covering safeguards for workers and empowerment of women [2].
• 30 December 2025: draft Code on Wages (Central) Rules published [6].
• 2026, before October: industrial workers protested stagnant wages in Noida and New Delhi, and UP announced interim wage rates for unskilled and skilled workers [1].
• 15 October 2026: The Hindu op-ed questions the ‘unskilled’ category [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• The Code on Wages is Act No. 29 of 2019, dated 8 August 2019 [2][5].
• It subsumes four laws: the Payment of Wages, Minimum Wages, Payment of Bonus and Equal Remuneration Acts [5].
• Section 6(6) sets four skill categories: unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, highly skilled [2].
• Besides skill, minimum wages may consider geographical area and arduousness of work [2].
• Section 9: the floor wage is fixed by the Central Government, not the states [2].
• The floor wage is based on minimum living standards, and different floor wages may be set for different areas [2].
• Minimum wages fixed by states cannot be lower than the floor wage [2].
• The draft rules' area classes are metropolitan / non-metropolitan / rural [4].
• The committee on skill categorisation is chaired by the Chief Labour Commissioner [4].
• All four Labour Codes took effect on 21 November 2025 [3].
• Draft Code on Wages (Central) Rules are dated 30 December 2025 [6].
• Safe in India Foundation studies automotive-sector worker injuries [1].
• IIMAD (International Institute of Migration and Development) is based in Thiruvananthapuram [1].

8. Who Decides What Counts as 'Skill' — and Why Experience Does Not Count

• Only skill that comes with a certificate is counted
• An ILO analysis of India's Code on Wages finds that skills learned by doing the work, often passed down over generations, are not treated as 'skilled' work [9].
• Only skills learned through certified training or a formal course move a worker into a higher wage category [9].

• So a mason with 15 years on site, but no certificate, can stay 'unskilled' on paper. The label shows missing paperwork, not missing ability.

• The label falls hardest on women's work

• The same ILO analysis notes that women's work, including domestic work, is often labelled unskilled and so paid little [9].

• ILO research finds that the gender pay gap is not explained only by differences in education or age. It is also linked to undervaluation: the skills needed in jobs done mostly by women are rated lower than they really are [10].

• Grading skill is really a question of equal pay

• The Code on Wages absorbed the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 [5].
• The ILO says jobs cannot fairly be sorted into 'skilled' and 'unskilled' unless the system also applies equal pay for work of equal value (the idea that different jobs needing similar effort, skill and responsibility should earn the same) [10].
• A skill grid drawn up without this check can quietly build old gender and caste ideas of 'menial' work into wage law.

9. The Case for Skill-Based Wages — and Where It Breaks Down

• The strongest argument for keeping the categories
• Pay linked to skill rewards workers who invest in training, so it gives people a reason to upskill.
• Employers say a single high wage for everyone could raise the cost of entry-level hiring. Firms might then hire fewer workers formally and push more work into the informal sector.

• The Code itself allows wages to differ by skill, area and arduousness (how physically hard the job is), so the law does not treat all work as the same [2].

• What this argument gets right

• Some difference for real expertise is fair. A tool-room machinist and a first-day helper do not do the same job.

• Even the Satpathy Committee allowed for different regional minimum wages, so it did not insist on one flat rate for everyone [8].

• Where it breaks down

• The skill premium is meant to be an extra paid on top of a decent base. In practice, the 'unskilled' rate has become the base, and there is still no figure for the floor below it [4].
• Food, rent and transport cost the same whatever a worker's grade. A wage gap justified by skill should not decide whether a worker can afford basic needs.
• The label also decides who gets safety training and protective equipment. That turns a wage category into a risk to the body: 2.27 fingers lost per accident against 1.54 for better-paid workers [1]. Skill has no bearing on whether a worker deserves protection.
• As shown above, the label mostly reflects certificates, not ability [9]. The 'reward for training' argument therefore breaks down for workers who learned on the job.

10. A Floor Wage With No Formula Behind It

• India already has a tested method for the floor, but it is not being used
• In 2019 an expert committee chaired by Dr. Anoop Satpathy (V.V. Giri National Labour Institute) proposed a National Minimum Wage of ₹375/day (as of July 2018) [8].
• That works out to about ₹9,750 a month [11].
• Its alternative was five regional rates, ranging from ₹342 to ₹447/day [8].

• It costed a balanced food basket, not just calories: about 2,400 calories, at least 50 g of protein and 30 g of fat a day [8].

• The draft rules took a different and narrower path

• PRS notes that the draft rules fix calorie intake at 2,700 calories, which differs from the committee's approach [12].
• They still set out no method for working out the floor wage [12][4].

• Without a method, the Centre can announce any floor figure and nobody can check it against a standard.

• Without regular revision, the floor loses value

• The Satpathy Committee said the food basket should be reviewed every 5 years, and the wage revised in line with the CPI (Consumer Price Index, the main measure of retail price rise) every six months [8].
• The draft rules require no periodic revision of the floor [4].
• With no revision, inflation steadily cuts the real value of the floor. Workers end up protesting for interim hikes, as in Noida and Delhi in 2026 [1].

11. What Should Change, and Who Should Change It

• Ministry of Labour & Employment: notify the floor wage using the Satpathy method
• Write the balanced-diet basket and the CPI-linked six-monthly revision into the final Central Rules [8].

• This turns Section 9 from a promise into a figure that can be checked [2].

• Chief Labour Commissioner's committee: change how skill is judged

• The committee that advises on skill categories should credit years of experience, not only certificates [4][9].
• It should judge jobs by effort, responsibility and arduousness, which the Code already allows [2]. This follows the ILO's 'work of equal value' test [10].

• Worker and women's representatives should sit on it. At present, the people being graded have little say in their own grade.

• Separate safety from the wage label

• Training, protective equipment and health benefits should depend on the hazard of the machine or site, not on the worker's skill grade [1].

• The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 is the place to make this rule.

• State governments: set skill premiums on top of a decent base

• States like UP should first lift the 'unskilled' rate to a cost-of-living base, then add a skill premium above it. Today the gap is built into the bottom rate itself [1].

12. Anchors for Answers

• Data: 'Unskilled' automotive workers lost 2.27 fingers per accident vs 1.54 for skilled workers in 2024 (Safe in India Foundation) [1]
• Data: Satpathy Committee's National Minimum Wage of ₹375/day (July 2018 prices), with regional rates of ₹342–447/day [8]
• Report/Committee: Expert Committee on Determining the Methodology for Fixing the National Minimum Wage (Anoop Satpathy), 2019: balanced-diet basket and six-monthly CPI revision [8]
• Report/Committee: PRS review of the draft rules: 2,700-calorie norm, no method for the floor wage, no periodic revision [12][4]
• Law/Case: Code on Wages, 2019: Section 6(6) skill categories, Section 9 floor wage; it absorbed the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976; Articles 42 and 43 (DPSP) [2][5]
• Comparison: ILO principle of equal pay for work of equal value: grade jobs by effort, skill and responsibility to correct undervalued, female-dominated work [10]

13. Mains Relevance

• GS-III: Indian economy, growth, development and employment; inclusive growth.
• GS-II: welfare of vulnerable sections; government policies and interventions.
• GS-I: the informal sector and migration, as social issues.
• GS-IV: dignity of labour; justice and fairness in employer conduct.

Possible question stems:

1. "The category of ‘unskilled’ labour is a regulatory construct rather than an economic reality." Critically examine this in light of the Code on Wages, 2019. (15 marks)
2. The floor wage under the Code on Wages, 2019 is a significant reform, yet its effectiveness depends on how it is put into operation. Discuss. (10 marks)
3. Migrant and contract workers face wage theft and occupational hazards in India. Assess how far the new Labour Codes address these vulnerabilities. (15 marks)

14. Related Topics to Study Next

• Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020: covers the PPE and safety-training gaps the article describes.
• Code on Social Security, 2020: covers health benefits and the inclusion of gig and unorganised workers.
• Industrial Relations Code, 2020: covers contract labour, strikes and the right to protest, relevant to the Noida/Delhi protests.
• Skill India / PMKVY and the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF): formal skill certification compared with statutory skill categories.
• Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS): data on informal employment and wages.
• Inter-State migrant workers and the e-Shram portal: registration and portability of welfare benefits.
• ILO Decent Work agenda and living-wage concept: the international benchmark for wage floors.
• Article 43 (living wage) and the Directive Principles of State Policy: the constitutional basis.

15. NCERT Concepts to Revise

• Floor wage (Economy): Section 9 of the Code on Wages sets a central floor below which state minimum wages cannot fall.
• Minimum wage (Economy): The article's core issue: minimum wages are fixed by skill category, which locks 'unskilled' workers into lower pay.
• Living wage (Economy): Contrasts with the minimum wage; Article 43 aims at a living wage, the benchmark for judging these rates.
• Labour laws (Economy): The Code on Wages and the other three labour codes are the legal framework the article critiques.
• Contract labour (Economy): Contractors withhold final-month pay and skip safety measures, a main source of wage theft the article describes.
• Informal employment (Economy): Migrant, construction and sanitation workers labelled 'unskilled' mostly work without contracts, social security or legal recourse.

16. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Number of categories: the Code has four, including highly skilled, not three [2].
• Who fixes the floor wage: the Central Government. States fix minimum wages and must stay at or above the floor [2].
• Enactment vs. effective date: the Code was enacted in 2019 but took effect on 21 November 2025 [2][3]. Do not write "Code on Wages, 2025".
• Floor wage vs. minimum wage vs. living wage: these are three different concepts. The floor wage is a statutory lower limit based on minimum living standards. The living wage is a Directive Principle aspiration.
• Article data: the 2.27 vs 1.54 fingers figure relates to the automotive sector in 2024 [1]. It is not national all-sector data.