Daily Times

The Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA) has opposed the proposed minimum wage of Rs.37,000 per month, stressing the need for ease of doing business and urging the policymakers to adopt a more comprehensive approach to address high economic growth agenda instead of focusing solely on raising wages, as it would be additional burden on the industry. PRGMEA Central Chairman Mubashar Naseer Butt and Regional Chairman Ahmad Hanif, in a joint statement said that the government should work on skills development and infrastructure, investing more in education as well as creating an enabling environment for business growth and job creation to enhance the living standard of the working class. Mubashar Naseer Butt raised the question over escalation of minimum wages rate despite the government claim that the year-to-year rate of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, has come down to only 11.8% in May 2024. This is close to a single-digit rate, and is the lowest since Nov 2021. So, why do the authorities need to make a hike in wages of workers, he argued. The PRGMEA Central Chairman also criticized the budget makers for raising wages because they did not run the businesses and never made the payments to their employees. So, they didn’t understand as to how the soaring cost of production hit the industry hard, he added. He said that there is need to analyze the factors that have contributed to this sharp decline of inflation.