What happened: ESIC wage-ceiling demand and the Centre’s response
An Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) meeting in New Delhi recorded a demand to raise the ESIC wage ceiling—the wage threshold used to decide whether workers qualify for ESIC benefits. ESIC employee representatives demanded that the wage ceiling be raised from ₹21,000 to at least ₹30,000.
Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who chaired the meeting, told trade union members that the Central Government is considering the wage-ceiling proposal and will decide soon.
After the meeting, a Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh representative stated that raising the wage ceiling could cover more than 50 lakh additional workers. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh representative said this estimate would be in addition to ESIC’s existing coverage of around 3.8 crore insured people.
Background and earlier position: wage-based eligibility used by ESIC
ESIC benefits eligibility uses wage-linked criteria, where a worker’s wage helps determine qualification for ESIC benefits. During the ESIC meeting, employee representatives based their demand on the wage ceiling of ₹21,000 and sought a higher wage threshold of at least ₹30,000 to expand eligibility.