News Desk
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s minimum wage, stagnant at 37,000 rupees ($133) per month for the 2025-26 fiscal year, is a hollow promise for millions of laborers who form the backbone of the nation’s economy. Despite a 15.6 percent increase in 2024-25, the unchanged wage fails to keep pace with inflation, leaving workers struggling to afford basic necessities.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates that a family of six needs over 75,000 rupees monthly for essentials like food, housing, healthcare, and education. Yet, systemic neglect and widespread non-compliance by employers ensure that even this inadequate minimum is a distant dream for most.
In Sindh, over 80 percent of private industrial units flout the minimum wage law, according to the Sindh Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee. The National Trade Union Federation’s general secretary, Nasir Mansoor, claims the figure is closer to 95 percent. This rampant “wage theft” is exemplified by institutions like the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB), which employs 12,000 sanitation workers at roughly 20,000 rupees monthly—17,000 rupees below the legal minimum. Activist Naeem Sadiq calculates this shortfall amounts to 2.4 billion rupees ($8.6 million) annually, siphoned off while workers languish in poverty.
Pakistan’s labor laws, devolved to provinces under the 18th Amendment, are toothless. In Sindh, the Minimum Wages Act of 2015 sets the standard, but enforcement is a farce.
The Labour Department, tasked with oversight, lacks an updated database of workers or businesses, and vacant inspector posts, as noted in a 2019 Sindh High Court report, cripple monitoring efforts.
Workers seeking redress must file written complaints with the Payment of Wages Authority, a daunting process with no helpline or awareness campaigns to guide them.
Employers face minimal consequences—fines of 20,000 to 50,000 rupees or up to six months’ imprisonment—while workers who complain risk immediate dismissal. The government’s apathy is glaring. Annual wage notifications, often delayed until September under pressure from activists, eclips System: trade unionists, arrive sporadically.
The Pakistan Peoples Party’s demand for a 50,000-rupee minimum wage was ignored, and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s claim that the current wage is “in a good place” ignores the 44 percent of Pakistanis living below the poverty line, as per a World Bank report. Meanwhile, employers exploit a lack of formal contracts, with workers like those at the SSWMB hired through subcontractors, denied union rights, and paid in cash to evade accountability.
Industry leaders argue that higher wages threaten competitiveness, citing the high cost of business and economic slowdowns. Yet, this excuse rings hollow when profits are prioritized over workers’ survival.
Pakistan’s failure to enforce its minimum wage reflects a deeper disdain for its labor class, whose exploitation fuels an economy that serves the elite while condemning millions to destitution. Without urgent reforms—stronger enforcement, a realistic wage adjustment, and robust worker protections—Pakistan’s laborers will remain trapped in a cycle of poverty, abandoned by a system that claims to represent them.
