Private, government sectors ordered Rs 7,000 minimum salary of unskilled workers

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday directed federal and provincial governments to ensure Rs 7,000 per month salary to unskilled workers, both in private and government sector institutions. A four-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry comprising Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday was hearing a suo moto case regarding the payment of prescribed minimum wages to security guards working in PTCL.
The court ordered for establishing complaint cells in every district for implementing the court order to ensure Rs 7,000 per month salary to all the unskilled workers both in government and private sector organisations in the country. The court also directed the governments to conduct surveys for ensuring the minimum salaries and also proceeded against those persons, who are reluctant in paying the minimum salary.
"We are not concerned about rich people but the court will not tolerate any kind of injustice with poor man of this country," the CJP said in his remarks. Federal and provincial secretaries for ministries of labour and manpower and commissioner Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) appeared before the court.
The counsel for PTCL, Muneer Paracha appraised the court that PTCL had signed a contract with a private security company for hiring security guards and they are being paid by the company not PTCL. Expressing annoyance, the court observed that it was the duty of the company to cancel its contract with those security company, which is not paying minimum Rs 7,000 per month salary to the guards which are working with PTCL. The court directed all the government departments to ensure minimum salaries of Rs 7,000 and submit report in this regarding on February 14. This is pertinent to mention that the security guards, working with PTCL were being paid only Rs 3,000 per month salary by the company, which had signed a contract with PTCL.
The company counsel said that they have been engaged by the contractors to whom the task of security had been outsourced. At the same time, he conceded that the contractor is also bound to follow the law of the land. The bench in its order said that it could not understand why PTCL had not ensured payment of minimum wages of Rs 7,000 to security-guards as contractor whom they have engaged is ultimately answerable to the PTCL. The hearing was adjourned till February 14.