Karnataka notifies final draft of minimum wages with average increase of 60%

Key points

• In a relief to over one crore workers across 81 scheduled employments in Karnataka reeling under pressure of rising prices of essential commodities, the Karnataka government on Friday (May 22, 2026) notified the final draft of minimum wages — ranging from ₹19,300 for an unskilled worker in Zone 3 to ₹31,100 for the highly skilled worker in Zone 1. The average increase of minimum wages is about 60% from the current wages.
• The final notification on Friday comes over a year after the draft of the revised minimum wages for 81 scheduled employment in the State was notified on April 11, 2025. The variable dearness allowance for two years amounting to ₹1,030 has been incorporated into the minimum wages.
• Confirming the notification, Labour Minister Santosh Lad told The Hindu that the new minimum wages would help a large workforce in the State.
• “This is the workforce that would have very...