The preamble of minimum wages laws in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan are to do justice with employees and employers of commercial and industrial establishments keeping in view business conditions and to do justice with male and female workers. But it was observed that too many amendments made in the Sindh laws of minimum wages have spoiled the basic laws.
So the following lacunae in these laws need to be removed to make these laws of minimum wages effective, efficient, workable and result-oriented:
1. MISCONCEPTIONS OF MINIMUM WAGES PER MONTH
1.1 Normally a month means a full month of 30 days, 31 days or 28/29 days but the restricted definition of "month" in minimum wages for unskilled workers Ordinance 1969 has created confusion, which defined "month" as a normal working period of 26 days, calculated at the rate of 48 hours of work per week. While workers get wages for different types of work under different conditions and environments, which includes monthly wages, daily wages, piecework wages etc.
1.2 The logic behind 26 days a month is that the monthly wage worker gets full 30 days wages which includes rest days ie Sundays, while daily wage worker gets only 26 days wages a month as he did not work on the rest day ie Sunday, which he also deserves for rest. So to do justice with daily wage workers, the law advises to use 26 days instead of 30 days for the calculation of the daily wage rate only which will not apply to wages per month. This is how rest days ie Sunday wages are also included in the daily wages and daily wage workers get the benefit of rest days ie Sunday. The bottom line is that in both cases, of monthly wage-earners and daily wage-earners, the total month wages of the worker will be the same say Rs 7,000. For example, say in the month of April, monthly wage-earner will get Rs 7,000 without calculating 30 or 26 day wages as his wages is for a full month and not based on days. Likewise the daily wage-earner will get a wage at the rate of Rs 269.23 per day and when he works for a full month which covers 26 working days, he will get Rs 7,000 and enjoy rest days as well, as being enjoyed by the monthly wage-earner.
1.3 Actually the minimum wages for the unskilled workers Ordinance 1969 has defined a "month" as 26 working days to make wage calculation simple, but it becomes defective because both the month wage-earner and daily wage-earner will get the same wages at the end of the month by applying the above formulae of 26 working days. But how will piecework wage-earners be covered under this definition of the month. Further, due to this confused definition of "month" many people of different segments are using a month as 26 days and even a wage rate for a monthly wage-earner is tried by applying the wage rate of a daily wage-earner calculated for 26 days, which is abnormal due to the adding of rest days. The same mistake is also done in Annexure-A attached to Recommendations of the Minimum Wages Board in Notification No L-II-13-4/78 dated 15 November 2010.
2. INCREASE IN MINIMUM WAGE PER MONTH
2.1 The minimum wages per month of unskilled workers has been illegally increased from Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 on 1st May 2010 by the Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. While according to the Minimum Wages Ordinance 1961, the Minimum Wages Board upon a reference made to it by the provincial government recommend to the government; the minimum rate of wages for adult unskilled workers and juvenile workers employed in industrial undertaking in the province. So it is the domain of the provincial government and not of Federal Government.
2.2 It is not clear that why the Sindh Government has, under Section 5 of the Minimum Wages Ordinance 1961, directed the Sindh Minimum Wages Board, to recommend the minimum rates of wages for all categories of workers employed in 40 industries in the province of Sindh, which includes the cement industry, the chemical industry, the paint industry, the petroleum industry, the pharmaceutical industry, readymade garments industry, the soap industry, sugar industry, tannery industry, textile industry, tobacco industry, beverages industry, hosiery industry, leather goods and footwear industry, which are sophisticated, organised and professionally-managed industries and are the best paymasters and treated as economic engines of the country and people wish and feel proud of working in these industries. While under the above referred Section 5 of the Minimum Wages Ordinance 1961, the provincial government may ask the Board to make recommendations for those industries where no adequate machinery exists for effective regulation of wages, how it is applicable on these industries. It is obvious that this move of the Sindh government will get nothing but enhance corruption and closure of industries.
2.3 Capabilities of unskilled workers can be measured as they are raw but how come the Sindh Minimum Wages Board is competent to measure the capabilities and economic values of skilled and semi-skilled workers. Frankly speaking, there is no minimum and maximum level of economic values of skilled and semi-skilled workers as it varies from person to person and accordingly they are rewarded by the employer under the mechanism of demand and supply. This action of the provincial government deprives new skilled and semi-skilled workers from getting more wages and benefits by putting minimum restrictions.
3. ILLEGAL RESTRICTION ON BASIC RIGHTS OF APPEAL
3.1 The Minimum Wages Ordinance 1961 has tried to put illegal restrictions on raising queries/questions/right of appeal on the minimum rates of wages declared through Section 6 (7) by stating that "the minimum rates of wages declared under Section 6 (power to declare minimum rates of wages) shall be final and shall not in any manner be questioned by any person in any court or before any authority.
3.2 This restriction is void and is against the fundamental rights of the citizens given in the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Further, it seems that the provincial government wants to impose minimum rate of wages at gunpoint and under duress.
3.3 On the one hand, the provincial government is trying to give the impression that they have fixed the minimum rate of wages under this Ordinance perfectly and with no errors and that is why they tried to snatch the right of appeal and on the other hand, under Section 6 (5), they admit that there may be a mistake in the minimum rates of wages so declared or that any such rate is inequitable to the employers or the workers. So Section 6 (7) needs to be deleted.
4. STONE-AGE AMOUNT OF HOUSING AND TRANSPORT
4.1 Section 3 of the Minimum Wages for unskilled workers Ordinance 1969 says that where an employer provides housing accommodation to a worker, he may deduct from the wages of such a worker an amount not exceeding Rs 25 per month for Karachi districts, Rs 20 per month for industrial area and for other areas Rs 13 per month.
4.2 Section z3 of the Minimum Wages for unskilled workers Ordinance 1969 further says where an employer provides a worker with transport to and from the place of work, he may deduct from the wages of such a worker zz0 per month for Karachi Districts, Rs 5/- per month for Industrial Area and for other areas Rs 2 per month. Don't you think this is a joke? Why are these important laws so neglected by our government. This is one of the major reasons that the economy of Pakistan is still in the stone-age and we are not developing in the way it should be.
5. WORKERS TO BE PAID BY CROSS CHEQUE/BANK TRANSFER
5.1 Clause XIII of the Recommendations of Sindh Minimum Wages Board in Notification No L-II-13-4/78 dated 15 November 2010 of Minimum Wages stated that "All Industrial, Commercial and other establishments registered under any law shall pay wages to the employees through cross cheque/bank transfer". The Board should advise such things keeping in view the state of industries, business conditions, employers, competence level of workers (unskilled, semi- skilled and skilled) and other laws effecting salaries and wages.
5.2 Pakistani labourers, especially the unskilled, are illiterate and uneducated due to our previous and present governments' good policies. So how come they can operate a bank account and how secure will they be during bank transactions. Income Tax Laws in Pakistan have covered salaries and wages to be operated through banks as above Rs 15,000 per month, which is still low and should be above Rs 35,000 as income tax is exempted upto taxable income of Rs 350,000 per year.
6. NEED CORRECTIONS IN MINIMUM WAGES LAWS
6.1 Section 8 of the Minimum Wages Ordinance 1961 relating to the Constitution of the Minimum Wages Council has been omitted in 1964, but the minimum wages Laws have not been updated yet as Section 2(3) of the Minimum Wages Ordinance 1961 still showing definition of Council. And the Minimum Wages Laws still includes the minimum Wages Council Rules 1961.
6.2 Truly speaking the functions of the Minimum Wages Council is democratic and still our democratic governments have not revived it.
6.3 Rules 17 (Rules relating to Board) of the minimum Wages Ordinance 1961 showing "subject to the provisions of Section 16, while Section 16 has been deleted in 1964.
6.4 Mistri instead of Ministry as stated in (3) Brick Klin Industry in Annexure A attached to Board's recommendations in Notification No L-II-13-4/78 dated 15 November 2010 of Minimum Wages and many such mistakes need to be corrected in Annexure A of such Notification.
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