In Pakistan, there is no indication of relief in the lives of labourers and low-paid workers as these matters rank low in the government’s priorities.
ByPervez Rahim | August 2022
The unprecedented hike in the cost of living Pakistan has caused extreme hardship to people in all classes, especially those whose ability to purchase items of daily use is declining at a fast pace. While there is no compromise on the output required from them by their employers, increase in their salaries have been none or insignificant since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. In some cases, employers have expressed their inability to grant annual increments on account of dwindling productivity and reduction in sales as the buying power of customers has been adversely affected.
Added to this is the price hike over the past two years which has further crippled the buying power of the lower income groups and the incredible high that has been seen as result of the Shahbaz Sharif government.
Despite the fixation of minimum wage for unskilled workers by the government, there is no dearth of unscrupulous employers in the country. They openly violate the law by paying much less wages to those vulnerable workers, who don’t possess any skills. There are various classes of workers who fall within this category and are exposed to exploitation by their employers. Some of these jobs comprise sweepers, janitors, helpers in workshops and canteens/restaurants, security guards and truck cleaners, etc.
Since the time of devolution, the minimum wage for unskilled workers is fixed, based on political expediency, which is often challenged in courts by the employers. When the latter get favourable decisions, it is again the poor unskilled workers, who have to suffer the consequences of the government’s over zealousness.
The declaration of minimum wage for unskilled workers by the government has not caused any problems since 1969, when it was fixed at Rs. 140 p.m. for the first time. Since 2010, its management by the respective provinces has twice caused monetary loss to workers due to highly ambitious fixation of minimum wage by two of the provinces at the expense of employers.
In July 2014, KPK had fixed a higher minimum wage of Rs. 15,000 p.m. when it was fixed at Rs. 12,000 by the other three provinces. On suspension of this wage by the Peshawar High Court in March 2015, the KPK government had to bring it down to Rs. 12,000 effective from July 2014, causing workers the loss of arrears.
Similarly, effective July 1, 2021, the Sindh government had fixed the minimum wage at Rs. 25,000 p.m., increasing it by around 43 % from Rs. 17,500. The federal government had fixed it at Rs. 20,000 while the rate in Punjab was Rs. 20,000; Baluchistan Rs. 20,000 and KPK Rs. 21,000. As against this, the Sindh Minimum Wage Board, which also comprises the employers’ representatives, had recommended a minimum wage of Rs. 19,000.
The employers challenged the Sindh minimum wage first before the Sindh High Court and then before the Supreme Court. The apex court accepted the employers’ appeal and fixed the minimum wage at Rs. 19,000 effective from July, 2021. Had the Sindh government agreed to employers’ request to fix the minimum wage at Rs. 20,000, like the other provinces, there would not have been any dispute. Consequently, the workers in Sindh have ended up drawing lesser wages of Rs. 19,000 than their counterparts in other provinces.
Besides, the utility of labour welfare laws has been constantly declining since 2010. The following three key labour welfare laws have been to the detriment of workers over the last twelve years: (1) Provincial Employees Social Security Ordinance, 1965 (2) Companies Profits (Workers’ Participation) Act, 1968 and (3) Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Act, 1976.
The Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (SESSI) has remained involved in litigation with the employers in superior courts from 2013 to March, 2021. The dispute relates to the rate at which the monthly contribution on behalf of the secured employees is to be paid to SESSI by the employers. The Supreme Court has decided that it should be paid at the prevailing rate of minimum wage.
Sindh is the only province which has enforced its own Sindh Companies Profits (Workers’ Participation) Act, 2015. The other three provinces still follow the federal act of 1968. The federal government has not made any amendments to the act since devolution in 2010.
As a consequence, the individual wage ceiling for entitlement to receive benefits under the act remains as Rs. 5,000. Since the minimum wage has recently been increased to Rs. 25,000 p.m. none of the workers employed in the industrial and commercial establishments in the provinces other than Sindh, get any share in company’s profits from employers.
The old-age pension scheme is still managed by the federal government under the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Act, 1976. Although the Sindh government had promulgated its own act in 2014, the federal government has so far not transferred the required funds to the former. As a result, the Sindh government has not been able to constitute an institution to run the pension scheme.
After the 18th Amendment, the federal government is managing the pension scheme without any lawful authority. It is therefore not in a position to either enhance rates without any hindrance, raise the monthly rate of contribution payable by the establishments on behalf of their insured employees nor increase the monthly amount of pension paid to the retired workers. The last enhancement in the monthly rate of contribution, had taken place in 2015, when the monthly pension was increased to Rs. 8,500 in January, 2020.
As labour’s matters rank low in the government’s priorities, it is extremely unfortunate that there is no indication of relief in workers’ miseries.
Free Ride
The only bird that dares to peck an eagle is the raven. It sits on the eagle’s back and bites its neck. However, the eagle doesn’t respond or fight with the raven. It does not spend time or energy with the raven. It just opens its wings and begins to fly higher in the sky. The higher the flight, the harder it is for the raven to breathe and the raven eventually falls due to lack of oxygen. Not all battles you need to respond to. Not all arguments or critics you need to respond to or answer back. Just lift up a standard, they’ll fall off! Stop wasting time with the ‘ravens’. Just take them to your height and they’ll fade away.
The unprecedented hike in the cost of living Pakistan has caused extreme hardship to people in all classes, especially those whose ability to purchase items of daily use is declining at a fast pace. While there is no compromise on the output required from them by their employers, increase in their salaries have been none or insignificant since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. In some cases, employers have expressed their inability to grant annual increments on account of dwindling productivity and reduction in sales as the buying power of customers has been adversely affected. 
The writer is a consultant in human resources at the Aga Khan University Hospital. He can be reached at parvez.rahim1947@gmail.com
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