Paying a minimum wage of Rs25,000 not possible for industries in Sindh: lawyer

KARACHI: A lawyer of private industries on Tuesday said it was not possible for industries of Sindh to pay Rs25,000 minimum wage set by the provincial government to labourers.

During the hearing of the plea before a two-member bench of the Supreme Court against the minimum wage in Sindh, the lawyer said the minimum wage in Sindh was Rs25,000 while it was Rs20,000 in other provinces.

He said legally the Sindh chief minister or government did not have the authority to increase the wage on their own.

Justice Qazi Faez Isa said that then they talked about the provincial autonomy too.

Read more: ‘Pakistan pays higher minimum monthly wage than China, India, Indonesia’

The private industry lawyer argued that Sindh’s process of setting the minimum wage was unconstitutional. He said contrary to the recommendation of the Sindh Wage Board of Rs19,000, the provincial chief minister set Rs25,000 as the minimum wage.

Issuing notices to the attorney general of Pakistan and advocate general Sindh, the apex court said the next hearing of the case should be fixed before a three-member bench.

The attorney general and advocate general should assist the court regarding the process of fixing the minimum wage, the SC said.

The top court also issued a stay order, according to which the industries could pay Rs19,000 till the final verdict in the case is announced. However, the court said if the stay order was taken back then the petitioners would pay all the arrears of wages.

Read more: Economy on strong footings to absorb trade deficit, inflationary pressures: Tarin

The case has been adjourned till January 2022.

It may be recalled that the Sindh High Court had upheld the decision of Rs25,000 minimum wage.

A notification issued by the Sindh Labour Department on July 9, 2021m read, “Government of Sindh is pleased to declare the minimum rates of wages Rs25,000 per month for unskilled adult and juvenile workers employed in all industrial and commercial establishments in Sindh shall be as given in the schedule appended to the minimum rates of wages, with effect from 01.07. 2021.”