The Kerala government plans to release a draft notification to update the minimum wages for private hospital workers in the state, as announced by State Labour and Education Minister V. Sivankutty. This move aims to ensure financial stability for the approximately 1.13 lakh employees in the sector. Currently, many private hospitals are still following the 2013 minimum wage rates due to the annulment of the 2018 notification by the Kerala High Court.
The revision is crucial to safeguard the income security of healthcare workers, especially with the significant rise in living costs. Despite efforts by a Minimum Wages Committee to address the issue through discussions from December 2023 to May 2025, no agreement was reached due to disagreements with private hospital management representatives. While trade unions supported a 60% wage increase, the management proposed only a slight raise based on the outdated 2013 rates.
The government, led by Minister Sivankutty, emphasized the necessity of fair wages that meet the basic needs of workers and their families. In response to the impasse, the government plans to proceed with the revision under Section 5(1)(b) of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. The department secretary has been instructed to publish the draft notification in the official gazette within a month to address the long-standing wage issue in the private healthcare sector.
