According to the drivers, they are paid ₹862 per day, of which ₹60 goes towards provident fund, leaving them with ₹802 per day.
The drivers have been on strike for the past six days, seeking a hike in daily wages along with implementation of basic DA, medical facilities and overtime payment. Delhi Transport Minister Pankaj Singh has directed officials to consult the labour department on their demands, including the issue of daily wages and what existing labour laws provide in this regard, a senior government official said.
The DTC Karamachari Ekta Union has also threatened a complete ‘kaam band’ agitation from September 28 over the non-implementation of basic DA for DTC contract employees. It has additionally demanded that private drivers operating DTC buses be taken on the corporation’s payroll.
Delhi High Court on workers’ pay
In a separate case, the Delhi High Court recently observed that labourers in the country are “least paid and cared” for and said society had failed to value and respect physical labour.
The observation came while the court was deciding an appeal against the conviction of a man for assaulting a labourer. The court modified his conviction from attempt to murder to voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons and reduced his sentence from five years to three years.
The court noted that hard physical labour requires adequate rest and described the situation of labourers as a “pathetic state of affairs”, while commenting on the compensation and value attached to physical labour.The High Court’s observations were made in the context of the criminal case and were separate from the ongoing DTC drivers’ wage dispute.
-With PTI inputs
First Published: Sept 23, 2026 9:03 AM IST