‘Pay minimum wage to rural workers’

On International Labour Day, observed on May 1 every year, the Hari Welfare Association (HWA) reiterated the call for the payment of minimum wage- fixed at Rs17,500- to workers in rural areas and strengthening the labour inspection mechanism.

In a statement issued on Saturday, HWA president Akram Khaskheli noted that millions of workers in Sindh’s rural areas, including those working the agriculture sector and brick kilns, remained deprived of social security, decent work conditions and minimum wage.

“These workers hardly get paid [up to] Rs6,000 per month against the minimum wage of Rs17,500 fixed by the Sindh government for unskilled workers in 2019,” he lamented. He further outlined unemployment and a lack of opportunities for education or to learn a skill as reasons that compelled millions of young people to work for around 14 hours a day for a meagre amount of Rs5,000 per month.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2021.