Punjab Labor Department Goes After Employers Not Paying Minimum Wage to Workers

The Labor Department has recently taken decisive action against businesses in the Rawalpindi district found to be in violation of the minimum wage law. Many businesses were penalized heavily after completion of prosecution for failing to pay their employees the stipulated minimum wage of Rs. 25,000.

Amid soaring inflation in the country, there has been a revision in salaries for public sector employees, as well as the minimum wage for all private sector industries and commercial institutions. The country’s minimum wage has now been set at Rs. 32,000. This law has been enforced to varying degrees in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Balochistan. However, the Minimum Wages Board of Punjab’s recommendation for accepting this revision has not been fully implemented in Punjab yet.

The Labor Department is adhering to the notification issued under the Punjab Minimum Wages Act 2019. According to this notification, industries, factories, shops, medical stores, and other private sector commercial establishments are legally obligated to pay their employees no less than Rs. 25,000 as a monthly salary. Failure to comply with this regulation results in appropriate action being taken as per the law.

Following a crackdown in light of this notification, the Labor Department revealed that it fines between 900 to 1,000 business owners in the Rawalpindi district every month for non-compliance with the minimum wage law.

The discrepancy in minimum wage standards between Punjab and the rest of the provinces has resulted in the minimum wage earners in Punjab, who are already at the lower end of the economic spectrum, facing greater hardships amidst the record inflation experienced by the country.

Samiullah Khan, Director of Punjab Labour Welfare Department in Rawalpindi, reported that the district currently houses over 18,000 registered enterprises. The law, mandating a minimum wage of Rs. 25,000, has been in effect since July 1, 2022. Under this regulation, business owners must pay this amount for eight hours of work across 26 days in a month, with overtime applicable for extended duty hours.

Khan acknowledged that a substantial number of businesses, both big and small, were violating this law. Many of these violators are not compensating their employees for overtime work, further exacerbating the issue.

In response to the situation, a special team has been formed to identify private sector entities in the district that remain unregistered. Khan suggested that various motives, including violation of the minimum wage law, were driving this non-compliance.

Khan assured that his department would promptly implement the Rs. 32,000 minimum wage order as soon as it receives notification from the Punjab government.

Earlier in March this year, Punjab’s caretaker Chief Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, issued a statement on International Worker’s Day, declaring that the minimum wage had been raised to Rs. 32,000. The enforcement of this revised minimum wage is expected to bring relief to workers in the province.