India, April 15 -- The Uttar Pradesh Government on Tuesday approved an interim hike of around 21 per cent in minimum wages for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad, following large-scale protests by thousands of factory workers in Noida.

The fresh minimum wage structure introduced across worker categories will be taking effect retrospectively from April 1.

The agitation, which had been intensifying over several days, saw an estimated 40,000 to 45,000 workers assemble at nearly 80 to 83 locations across the Gautam Buddh Nagar commissionerate, including key industrial hubs such as Sector 62, Phase-2, Sector 63, Sector 60, Sector 84 and parts of Greater Noida.

The process for final wage fixation ...