The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sindh Assembly has been informed that more than 80 percent of the province’s private industrial establishments are not complying with the official directive on minimum wage payments.
During a PAC meeting chaired by Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, the Department of Labor and the Sindh Employees’ Social Security Institution (SESSI) were instructed to ensure that all industrial units across the province pay workers the officially mandated minimum wage of Rs37,000.
While reviewing the SESSI audit reports for the years 2018 and 2019 in the meeting, the Chairman PAC said that non-payment of monthly minimum wage in 80 percent of private industrial establishments is a clear violation of labor laws.
He directed the SESSI and the Labor Department to strictly implement the law on providing minimum monthly wages to workers.
SESSI Commissioner Miandad Rahujo told the PAC that out of 67,000 industrial units in the province, 24,000 units are registered with SESSI, out of which 6,000 units have closed down while 18,000 units are active and more than 800,000 workers of the registered units are registered with SESSI.
He said that many industrial units are paying their workers the minimum wage set by the government, however, this salary is not being paid to the guards of private security agencies.
Furthermore, the PAC also ordered an audit of the annual purchase of medicines worth Rs9 billion for 7 hospitals and 42 dispensaries under the Labor Department. This order was given after complaints were made that irregularities were identified in the purchase of billions of rupees worth of substandard medicines and machinery.
