Daily Times

KARACHI: Interim Sindh Minister for Labour and Human Resources Simon John Daniel has authorities concerned to remove ambiguities in law to fix minimum wage rate for home-based industry, including bangle, mineral water, private schools and colleges and private hospitals, clinics and maternity homes.

The directive came during a meeting of departments concerned wherein the minister asked them to define the law properly.

He said that complaints were being received from labour leaders and workers’ bodies that minimum wages were not being implemented properly. He directed Labour Department to prepare a viable mechanism for effective implementation of laws so as to provide relief to workers.

The minister also sought a list of 41 industries in which minimum wages would be fixed.

The caretaker government has already fixed and revised salaries of several industrial workers by 15 percent which had been applied from July 1, 2018.

Sindh Minimum Wages Board Secretary Shaheen Nisar Mangi informed the meeting that two years ago a survey was conducted with the assistance of a non-governmental organisation in Hyderabad regarding bangles industry and a proposal was also sent to Labour Department for further measures.

But she said,” We have no proper statistics and data of labour working in bangle, mineral water, private educational institutions, while employers were also reluctant to share any information regarding number of workers and their wages.

She underlined the need to convene a meeting of employers, workers and Labour Department to find solution and implement minimum wage law in the province.

Published in Daily Times, July 19^th 2018.