The Sindh government has fixed the minimum wage at Rs. 25,000 in its budget for the fiscal year 2022-23.
While announcing the development, the provincial minister for industries, commerce, and cooperative department, Jam Ikramullah Dharejo, said that the government has cognizance of the issues being faced by common men.
He said that the government has ordered all employers and factory owners to pay a minimum of Rs. 25,000 to their unskilled workers, effective from 1 June 2022.
The decision in this regard was made during a meeting of the Minimum Wages Board Sindh on 8 June.
“All members of the board had agreed with the proposal of the chairman,” he said.
The next day, the Sindh government also issued a gazetted notification, setting the minimum wage to Rs. 25,000 per month for adult unskilled and juvenile workers employed in industrial/commercial establishments in Sindh.
On the other hand, a member of the Minimum Wage Board representing employers, Khalil Ahmed Baloch, said that the increase of Rs. 6,000 in the minimum wage is too much which would result in the closure of many industries and as a result, the workers would suffer.
“We are increasing the minimum wage to Rs. 25,000 because it is a political decision,” he said.
It is to be noted that the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments have also raised the minimum wages of unskilled/juvenile workers to Rs. 25,000 in proposed budgets.
The KP government has also raised the salaries of government employees by 30 percent, and pensions by 15 percent.
