Overview
- The state government on Friday notified a revised minimum-wage schedule that redivided Karnataka into three zones and raised the monthly unskilled wage in Greater Bengaluru to about Rs 23,300.
- Industry groups including the Karnataka State Hotels’ Association have warned that those higher wages, combined with rising fuel and LPG costs, could push some menu prices up by as much as 60 percent.
- Hotelier estimates translate the warning into concrete examples such as a masala dosa rising from about Rs 80 to Rs 150, a plate of idli from Rs 50 to about Rs 80, and biryani from Rs 300–350 to nearly Rs 500.
- Associations say the headline wage understates employer cost because of statutory contributions and benefits and estimate total per-worker cost at roughly Rs 36,000 when ESI, provident fund, food and accommodation are included.
- With roughly 60,000 hotels and restaurants in the state and the wage rule covering about 81 sectors and two crore workers, hoteliers are asking the government for phased implementation or sector-specific relief while signalling possible phased price hikes or staff reductions.