Supreme Court Directs Sindh Govt To Fix Minimum Wage In Province In Two Months

Supreme Court directs Sindh govt to fix minimum wage in province in two months

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Sindh Government and the Wage Board to fix minimum wage in the province by consensus in two months

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jan, 2022 ) :The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Sindh Government and the Wage board to fix minimum wage in the province by consensus in two months.

A three-member SC bench comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed heard the case filed by the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce, Karachi against the Sindh Government for determination of minimum rates of wages for unskilled adult and juvenile workers.

During the course of proceedings, the court ordered for payment of Rs 19,000 per month as minimum wage recommended by the Wage Board in Sindh. It also directed that all industrial and commercial employees in Sindh should be paid a minimum wage of Rs 19,000.

The apex court, while separating the inter-provincial organization's application from the case, said that the application of Federal law on provincial industries would be examined separately.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah inquired about the minimum wage fixed by the Federation and asked how the minimum wage had been increased in Sindh.

Advocate Abid Zubair, counsel for the petitioner, said the Federation had fixed Rs 20,000 as minimum wage while the provincial cabinet approved the minimum wage in Sindh.

According to the law, the provincial government was bound to follow the Wage Board's recommendation and the law also stipulated that if the provincial government had any objections to the Wage Board's recommendation, it must return the matter within 30 days, he added.

Meanwhile, Justice Umar Ata Bandial asked the role of government in fixing the minimum wage.

The Additional Advocate General Sindh said the Sindh Wage Board recommended minimum wage in the province and it was up to the provincial government whether to accept the recommendation or not.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah asked whether the matter would be put on hold if there was no consensus between the Sindh Government and the Wage Board. He noted that the minimum wage was set at Rs 20,000 across the country while the Sindh Wage Board recommended Rs 19,000.

The court ordered to pay the minimum wage of Rs 19,000 as proposed by the Sindh Wage Board to all the industrial and commercial employees in the province.

It may be noted that the Sindh High Court in its decision had maintained a minimum wage of Rs 25,000 fixed by the Sindh Government in the province while various industries had approached the Supreme Court against it.