CITU stages protest demanding regularisation of contract workers, Minimum Pay Scale - The HinduPublished - July 31, 2026 12:11 am IST - VIJAYAWADACITU activists and workers staging a sit-in protest in front of NTR collectorate in Vijayawada on Thursday. | Photo Credit: K.V.S. GiriAround 50 lakh employees working in scheduled employments are being subjected to exploitation without revising the minimum wages for them, leaders of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) said on Thursday, warning the government of a larger strike if demands are not met immediately.Participating in a protest at the NTR District Collectorate in Vijayawada, CITU State president Ch. Narasinga Rao and general secretary A.V. Nageswara Rao said 71 jobs feature on the list of the Scheduled Employment, for which the government has fixed minimum wages.“Every once in five years, the minimum wages for these 71 Scheduled Employments have to be revised, but it has been 12 years since the last revision was done,” said Mr. Rao.Among Scheduled Employments, there are 4 lakh outsourced and contract employees working in different government departments. The CITU demanded implementation of the Minimum Time Scale and regularisation of these workers and increasing the pay of unskilled workers to ₹26,000.Similar protests were held outside the Collectorates across the State. The CITU State Committee said the State government has neglected the working-class sections and focussed solely on serving investors in the name of development.Reminding the government that development is impossible without workers, the CITU demanded that all outsourcing and contract employees be regularised.Published - July 31, 2026 12:11 am ISTSign in to unlock member-only benefits!Access 10 free stories every monthSave stories to read laterAccess to comment on every storySign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single clickGet notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products${ ind + 1 } ${ device }Last active - ${ la }