Newspapers of May 21, 2025 reported the suicide of a private security guard in Karachi that was conveniently concluded as a case of family dispute. The truth is that anyone made to stand for 12 hours a day, for 30 days a month, paid Rs25,000, with no EOBI and no social security is an incredibly vulnerable individual – pushed to the brink by systemic neglect. For those interested in the lives of the poor, it was the ninth reported suicide case of a security guard in the last five years.
It seems like these cases are often camouflaged as suicides. They are in reality the result of extreme cruelty, exploitation and criminality by the hands of the elite class. These security guards are employed at less than one third of the legal minimum wage and deprived of four mandatory holidays per month, EOBI and social security.
The minimum wage for a security guard in Sindh is Rs38,280 for 8-hour duty and Rs76,560 for those who perform 12-hour duty. It is a crime against humanity for our banks, shopping malls, industry, petrol pumps, post offices, National Saving Centres, government hospitals and the rich elite to employ these security guards in such an unlawful manner, indulge in wage theft and inflict workplace stress. It is time for the government to not look the other way and implement actionable policies regarding labour rights, especially concerning minimum wage workers.
Naeem Sadiq
Karachi
