Covid-19 is unravelling the intolerable dichotomy of India's labour market

There was a time when pay cuts we see today were a complete no-no; govt and public sector jobs were considered safe, as pay and pensions were both assured. Not any longer, it seems, writes T N Ninan

Among the first things that the government did after announcing the complete lockdown a month ago was to ask employers (however badly their operations may have been affected) to make sure their employees were paid in full. Since then, the steady drip of news on salary payments has made for unexpected reading. Half a dozen state governments have announced cuts in employee salaries or deferments in payment. Even Communist-ruled Kerala, having earned universal kudos for its fight to control Covid-19, has announced what amounts to a 20 per cent pay cut for the next five months.
 
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