For two years, Vimlesh Kumar would put in 12 hours a day for seven days a week – no Sundays and only the rare public holiday — in the hope of being paid overtime. With two young children to feed and raise and finances strained, Kumar hoped the money would help.
The money never came. Instead, Kamlesh, a contractual worker at an Indian Oil Corporation Limited refinery in Barauni in Bihar’s Begusarai, is now caught in a legal fight to claim what is rightfully his. “My overtime comes to about Rs 2 lakh,” he told The Indian Express. “They promised to investigate and pay what’s due, but that has yet to come.”
He isn’t alone. The February 2 strike at the IOCL refinery — where workers pressed for timely overtime wages, an eight-hour workday, and basic facilities — has since been identified as one of the earliest triggers of a chain of labour protests across industrial clusters, including in Noida, where a similar protest over wages turned violent on April 13.
According to one permanent employee, workers are frequently promised overtime payment beyond the mandated eight-hour shift, but payments are often delayed. (Express photo)
But two months after the day-long strike, which pressed several demands including a strict eight-hour workday, timely overtime wages, social security benefits such as provident fund (PF), and basics such as labour sheds, drinking water and toilets, workers The Indian Express spoke to claim little has changed on the ground, alleging unpaid overtime despite promises after the strike. This gains significance after the April 13 labour protest in Noida over higher wages turned violent.
According to one permanent employee, workers are frequently promised overtime payment beyond the mandated eight-hour shift, but payments are often delayed. “Regular hours are paid for, but where overtime, which involves double pay, is concerned,” this employee said. “Workers have confronted contractors, asking either to follow work sheets properly or cancel gate passes so they could seek work elsewhere.”
When contacted, IOCL said that “a committee has been formed, and the claims of these 11 workers will be heard and processed”.
What the law states
Under India’s labour codes, regular working hours are generally 8-9 hours, with mandatory overtime payment beyond this or beyond 48 hours per week. Overtime payment, however, is twice the normal wages.
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As of April, the minimum wage in Bihar for unskilled work is Rs 428 per day, Rs 444 for semi-skilled, Rs 541 for skilled and Rs 660 for highly skilled. Wages are revised twice a year — April 1 and October 1.
Workers, however, claim these rules are frequently flouted, with private contractors employing contractual workers skimping on overtime payments. Most other grievances, too, are linked to private contractors, such as allegations of assault and abuse.
Contractual workers also claim they are paid lower than the minimum wage, with a part of their wages going to contractors as commission. “As a result, we are paid only Rs 400 a day, though the board rate for unskilled is Rs 551 per day,” Vimlesh Kumar said, while another worker, Rohit Kumar, said: “Contract workers generally earn less than permanent employees and don’t get travel and other allowances. Our tenure is also uncertain, and those who join last are the first to lose jobs when contracts end.”
These grievances came to a head on February 2. That day, a scuffle ensued after a worker was terminated, triggering fears of mass layoffs without dues and prompting protests. After discussions with workers, the IOCL management agreed to several terms: from overtime and assured weekly rest to weekly grievance redressal by a committee, quarterly review of statutory compliance such as PF, notice pay and retrenchment benefits.
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“Issues related to site facilities such as sheds and drinking water will be monitored by the committee. From 1 December 2025, all disputes related to wage payments will be resolved based on biometric data,” a letter from IOCL, dated February 2, said.
But workers claim enforcement remains uneven. “In certain cases, payments still come after two or three months. We are asked to work Sundays and holidays, but compensation is not always commensurate. Except for Republic Day and Independence Day, public holidays too are rarely observed,” Rakesh Singh, a worker at the refinery, said.
With their overtime still pending, at least 11 workers have filed appeals with the company, with the company now scheduled to hear their cases in Patna on May 4. Among them is Ranjeet Kumar, who claims to have worked for 14 months without overtime.
“The company says the contractor will pay, the contractor points to the company. Now there is a hearing on May 4,” he said.
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As uncertainty over payments continues, bills keep mounting for Vimlesh Kumar, forcing him to borrow Rs 1 lakh to keep the house running.
“We are living hand-to-mouth. School fees, milk for the little one, food for everyone, these are basic things, so I have to manage them somehow for my family,” he said. “Salary alone was never enough, so I did all those extra hours. Now, each day that we don’t get those pending dues, we sink a little deeper into debt.”
