The Karnataka High Court has stayed three circulars issued by government departments that suspended the implementation of revised minimum wages for workers, including employees linked to municipal and panchayat services. The court has adjourned the matter to September 21.
Justice H.T. Narendra Prasad, hearing a writ petition filed by various worker organisations affiliated with the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), passed the interim order. The stay covers circulars issued by the state audit department, the Directorate of Municipal Administration and the Department of Panchayat Raj.
The circulars had halted the payment of revised minimum wages notified by the Karnataka government for 83 scheduled employments. The revised wage notification was issued on May 22, 2026, and had been implemented immediately by several government departments, according to the report.
The dispute escalated after the Finance Department issued an official order on July 15 objecting to the revised minimum wage notification. The department recommended suspending implementation after considering the financial burden and possible impact on investment. Following that position, the three departments issued separate circulars stopping implementation of the revised wage notification.
The petitioners argued that the circulars were unlawful and intended to deprive workers of the revised minimum wages. The organisations asked the High Court to direct the immediate implementation of the wage notification. The petitioners include the Karnataka State Government Non-Permanent Employees Federation, the State Municipal Workers’ Union, the Tumakuru District Water Supply Employees’ Union and an association representing garbage auto-rickshaw drivers and helpers working with Tumakuru City Corporation.
The case has implications for workers engaged in essential civic services, including municipal sanitation and water supply operations. It also places the financial responsibility of revised wage payments at the centre of the dispute, as departments had cited the expected financial burden while seeking to suspend implementation.
The High Court’s interim stay prevents the three circulars from operating while the petition is considered. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for September 21, when the court is expected to take up the matter further.
