Trade unions and labour organisations welcomed newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s announcement of a 10 per cent raise in basic pay and pensions of the federal government employees and fixing the minimum monthly wage of workers at Rs25,000. However, they expressed doubt on the implementation of the announcement, saying governments often did not make mechanism for the implementation of such promises.
Commenting on the PM’s announcement that he made in his first speech in the National Assembly after being elected as the leader of the House, National Trade Union Federation Pakistan (NTUF) General Secretary Nasir Mansor said that the minimum wage boards were functioning under the provincial labour departments in each province and these boards decided the minimum salaries of the industrial workers.
He explained that the federal government’s Rs25,000 minimum wage would be applicable to the factories and organisations operating in the provinces under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
He pointed out that last year, the Sindh government had made a similar announcement, but later, some employers approached the Sindh High Court against the provincial government’s decision.
The high court decided the case in favour of the workers, after which the employers challenged the SHC verdict in the Supreme Court.
Mansoor said the Supreme Court nullified the Sindh government’s policy and stated that the minimum wage of workers would have to be decided by the provincial minimum wage boards.
The apex court maintained that the minimum monthly salary would be Rs19,000 in Sindh and Rs20,000 in federal jurisdiction.
The NTUF general secretary said that after the apex court’s decision, the Sindh wage board could decide on the matter and increase the minimum wage, but the pervious board had completed its term and a new board was yet to be constituted by the provincial government.It seemed that the provincial government was no longer interested to raise the wages of the workers, Mansoor lamented.
He, however, appreciated the federal government’s announcement, saying that the new government must promote worker-friendly policies.
Home-Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) Secretary General Zehra Khan said the HBWWF welcomed the federal government’s announcement. She said the inflation rate had been too high in the last government and salaries of the worker were too low.
She termed the announcement of raising the minimum wage a wise decision that had been taken in view of the public misery.She, however, added that the monthly salary of Rs25,000 was also not enough considering the financial requirements of a five-person family.
“The government should seriously take up the issue of workers and the salaries of workers should be fixed as per the living cost of a five-member family.
The calculation of living cost includes education expenses, health, transportation, residence, utility bills, food and clothes,” she stated.Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research Executive Director Karamat Ali said the intentions of the new federal government seemed good but such announcements needed effective implementation.
He added that the employers could create hurdles as they would not want the new government to implement Rs25,000 as the minimum wage.
Ali said that the federal government should take up the issue of the minimum wage in the Council of Common Interests so that the chief ministers of all the provinces could equally implement it in their respective provinces.
