'National minimum wage policy a must'

Ahmedabad, Oct 2 (UNI) Social activist Swami Agnivesh today demanded a national minimum wage policy for the 37-crore people under the unorganised sector.

Participating in the fifth anniversary celebrations of an NGo 'Prashant-the centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace', Mr Agnivesh said a common minimum programme would be chalked out soon to tackle issues like casteism, racism, general inequality, foeticide, and others dogging the society.

The 60-year-old Agnivesh, better known across India for his campaigns against bonded labour and founder-head of the Bandhu Mukti Morcha (Bonded Labour Liberation Front), said, ''On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti I feel that with the help of social organisation like 'Prashant' we can throw out the issue of poverty through minimum wage programme.'' He will therefore set up a manch or 'forum' by the year-end to take up these issues. Terming the forum as a socio-religious-cultural-manch, Swami Agnivesh said the forum will stand on its own inherent strength and would symbolise the forum's philosophy of 'Bharat Navnirman Mahan Gyan'.

The earlier Central governments had failed to bring in a policy on National Minimum Wage. Though the UPA government falteringly took a step in this direction by incorporating the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) in its manifesto ''we are still not happy with it,'' he said.

''We want minumum employment of 250 days guaranteed under the EGS and we insist on a national policy on minimum wage because different states have fixed different minimu wages,'' he said.

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