Modi appeals people to not cut the pay of domestic help and others who can’t come to work

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi spared a thought for those and requested people not to cut salaries of domestic help, or car cleaners.
  
• “Please understand that they too have to run their families and keep them healthy too,” Modi said.
  
• The White House said that it will pay the ‘hard working’ Americans as a lot of the companies have shut down — including bars and restaurants.
  
• IndiGo today said that it would cut employee salaries by up to 25% starting from April 1, the airline’s CEO told employees in an email.

As many middle class people are working from and not worried about salaries, the country also has a lot of workers in the unorganized sector like domestic help, daily wage workers and others who will lose pay as they stay home due to pandemic.

In his long speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spared a thought for those and requested people not to cut salaries of those like maids, or car cleaners and others employed by citizens.

“Please understand that they too have to run their families and keep them healthy too,” he said.

Household help are the worst paid in the country

In India, it is a popular practice amongst many households to cut pay for days of work missed. In fact, few domestic workers ever receive weekly holidays or even get any other benefits.

The salaries of house help and other unorganized and unskilled workers are as badly paid as agricultural workers - who are the worst earners of the country, said an Oxfam study. Besides, their incomes barely ever increase.

“The plight of wage earners in unorganized and unregistered enterprises, who account for 44.5% of the income in the economy but receive only 26.4% of the total wages, is quite similar to that of agricultural wage earners,” the study had said.

White House says that it will pay the ‘hard working’ Americans

While Modi’s appeal might strike a chord with households, there has been no announcement on a large scale handout to help those who will miss work and hence their daily bread. A few days ago, the White House said that it will pay the ‘hard working’ Americans as a lot of the companies have shut down — including bars and restaurants.

“Americans need cash now and the president wants to get cash now. And I mean now in the next two weeks,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, adding that the amount of direct payment may be higher than $1,000. The payments are income capped to keep a check that high earners don’t receive additional payouts.

Indian airlines cut pay and give mandatory paid leave

IndiGo today announced that it would cut employee salaries by up to 25% starting from April 1, the airline’s CEO told employees in an email. This pay cut also applies to CEO Ronojoy Dutta due to ‘precipitous drop in revenues’.

The decision came after GoAir is packing off employees on unpaid leaves. On Tuesday (March 17), announced that it is suspending international operations and offering leave without pay programme for its staff on a rotational basis, amid "unprecedented" decline in air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The airline plans to keep as much as 35% of its workforce on leave without pay for a month, PTI reported citing sources. This would include staff at overseas airports. It also said the airline was planning a 20% pay cut for employees in a staggered manner.

The cash-strapped national carrier Air India also announced cost-cutting measures, including allowances or suspending certain services that it pays to its executive pilots, cabin crew and ground staff.

See also:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tells 1.3 billion Indians to impose a symbolic 'janata curfew' on March 22

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