Apparel exporters in Noida on Wednesday said they cannot absorb the minimum wage hikes announced by the Uttar Pradesh government, citing rising costs and pressure from global buyers threatening to shift orders, even as labour unrest risks disrupting shipments.
“With the rising input costs, it will be difficult for the exporters to pay the hike in wages,” said Lalit Thukral, president of Noida Apparel Export Cluster. “Our margins are already under pressure and buyers are renegotiating to lower prices of apparels. If we do not comply, they will shift the orders to Bangladesh, Cambodia or Vietnam.”
He said the association will take up the issue with the state government on Friday.
The government has announced a wage hike of up to 21% for workers in Noida and Ghaziabad effective April 1 amid widespread labour protests since Monday, increasing minimum monthly pay for unskilled labour to ₹13,690, semi-skilled to ₹15,059 and for skilled labour to ₹16,868. Workers, however, have rejected it, demanding a minimum salary of ₹20,000 as part of a charter of demands.
The unrest has started impacting future orders from the Noida hub, which employs between 800,000 to one million workers and exported garments worth about ₹50,000 crore in FY26, accounting for over one-third of India’s total apparel exports.
Global brands are seeking clarity on delivery schedules as protests continue across factory clusters. Industry executives said prolonged disruptions could push buyers to shift orders to competing manufacturing hubs such as Bangladesh and Vietnam.
“We are flooded with queries from all the major global brands on whether delivery will be delayed due to the workers’ unrest,” Thukral said. He said 50% of the workers were expected to join the factories on Wednesday.
This even as companies insisted there is little room to raise wages as a host of factors including higher raw material costs, volatile freight rates and weaker global demand has squeezed their margins.
45 of 66 Held Not Workers: UP govt
As many as 45 of the 66 people arrested in connection with the unrest in Noida are not workers, with “external elements” playing a key role in inciting violence and arson during the protests, according to a statement issued by the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday. The government said it acted swiftly to foil what it described as a “well-planned conspiracy” to create disorder under the guise of a labour movement.
