By Peerzada Mohsin Shafi

On May Day, governments across India make lofty declarations about workers’ rights. But in Kashmir, the reality tells a darker story. Labour laws are flouted in broad daylight. Wages remain dismal. And those who keep the economy running—teachers, cooks, sanitation staff, health workers—are treated as disposable.

Take the case of a postgraduate teaching in a private school in Anantnag, who earns just ₹3,000 a month. Or a vocational trainer in a government school, responsible for skill development among high schoolers, surviving on less than ₹10,000.

Compare that to the revised minimum wage notification by the Central Government this April, which recommends ₹893 per day for highly skilled workers. That’s roughly ₹23,000 a month. Yet, in practice, many workers in Jammu and Kashmir earn a fraction of that, if they get paid on time at all.

This isn’t a glitch in the system. It is the system.

Despite decades of policy reforms and constitutional protections, India’s Minimum Wages Act, passed in 1948, remains a toothless document in Kashmir. Public and private employers ignore it freely. Enforcement is rare. Accountability is weaker still. In many schools, even highly qualified teachers are offered “stipends” instead of salaries. Some are paid quarterly. Others are told their pay depends on student........

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