Sindh Assembly informed: Sindh government to ensure payment of fixed minimum wage to workers

Sindh Minister of Information & Archives and Labour Saeed Ghani has said that the minimum wage of unskilled laborers had been increased from 16,200 to 17,500 this year. He said that this would apply to all factories, industrial zones and wherever non-skilled workers worked.
Saeed Ghani said that government would ensure the payment of fixed minimum wage to the workers and labourers. He said that if from anywhere else the Sindh government received any information that the workers or the labourers were being paid less than the salary fixed by the Sindh government, the government took action without ado. The provincial minister said this while addressing the question-answer session of the Sindh Assembly on Monday. Saeed Ghani said that although it was not possible to go to every factory and shop or elsewhere and to check whether the workers were being paid according to the salary fixed by the Sindh government, yet a prompt action was being taken If any complaint was received in this regard. Responding to a question, the minister told the House that the wage board comprised the representatives of not only the labour unions but also representatives of the owners, who keep on pressing the government that whenever it announced any increase in minimum wage, it notified the same without delay.
He said that through the labour unions, all employees were always aware of their minimum wages and in addition to that various seminars which were conducted under the Labor Department were the source of awareness for workers. Saeed Ghani said that new hospitals had been set up under the labour department across the province while the existing hospitals had been upgraded. He said that Rs 52 million had been spent on the entire project. Saeed Ghani said that if an organization took more than eight hours of work from a laborer and did not pay for it, then it can be complained to the Labor Department or Labour Board. He told the Sindh Assembly that under the auspices of sub-section 3 of section 9 of the Labor Laws, such a complaint could carry a penalty of six months imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000. Responding to a supplementary question, the provincial minister said that if a registered worker died during sevice, then under the Workers Welfare Board rules, Rs 5 lakh were paid to his family.
Meanwhile, Sindh Minister for Information & Archives and Labour Saeed Ghani has said that education and health care facilities should be improved for the labourers of the province. Saeed Ghani said that all the hospitals and dispensaries which were being functioning under Sindh Employees Social Security Institution should utilize all the resources to further improve the medical care being provided to the labourers. He said this while presiding over a high-level meeting of the Labor Department on Monday. The meeting briefed the Minister at length about the education and health services being provided to the laborers under the Labor Department. Saeed Ghani while addressing the meeting further said that all facilities including X-ray, Laboratory tests should be ensured in SESSI's hospitals and dispensaries. He said that all the better facilities should be provided to the patients coming to the OPDs of these hospitals and dispensaries. Saeed Ghani said that the Sindh government had always been trying to provide better health and education facilities to the laborers and their families.
Secretary Labour Abdul Rasheed Solangi, Commissioner Sindh Employees Social Security Institution Kashif Gulzar and other senior officers attended the meeting.-PR