Subheadline: The payment follows a two-year dispute over minimum-wage arrears, a 28-day hunger strike and orders from labour authorities and the Bombay High Court.
Thane | September 9, 2026
Sixty-eight sanitation workers at Thane Mental Hospital have received a total of Rs 58 lakh in arrears after a two-year dispute over minimum-wage payments, according to a report by Loksatta – Thane. The amount, deposited into the workers’ bank accounts on Monday, includes the wage difference for six months and an equivalent penalty.
The workers had alleged that they were not being paid the minimum wage required under the Minimum Wages Act. Represented by the Shramik Janata Sangh union, they pursued the matter through marches, sit-ins, demonstrations and a 28-day chain hunger strike. The dispute was also taken before the Thane Industrial Court.
The sanitation workers were engaged through contractor Lokrajya Self-Employment Services Cooperative Society, Pune. According to union general secretary Jagdish Khairalia, the hospital administration and the contractor did not comply with earlier court directions. The union subsequently filed a recovery claim at the Thane Deputy Labour Commissioner’s office under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
After about a year of proceedings, the Assistant Labour Commissioner and authority under the Minimum Wages Act issued an order on December 10, 2025. The order directed the contractor to pay the six-month wage difference along with double the amount as a penalty, taking the total to Rs 58 lakh. The payment was to be made within 45 days of the order. It also stated that if the contractor failed to pay, the hospital administration, described in the order as the principal employer, would have to make the payment within the following 60 days.
Khairalia said neither the contractor nor the administration initially implemented the order. The contractor then approached the Bombay High Court. On April 16, 2026, the High Court directed implementation within four weeks of the Thane Industrial Court’s order dated June 11, 2024, as well as the order issued by the authority under the Minimum Wages Act in the recovery proceedings.
The payment brings the reported wage recovery process to a conclusion for the 68 workers covered by the claim. The case involved a public mental-health institution, a contracted sanitation workforce and the responsibility of the principal employer when a contractor does not comply with wage-related orders. The report did not specify whether any further proceedings or claims remain pending.
