Most Hattar factories pay workers less than fixed wage

K-P labour department fails to implement minimum wage in private sector

HARIPUR:

Most factories at Hattar Industrial Estate Haripur continue to pay less than the minimum wage to workers as the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) labour department failed to enforce the wage in the private sector.

Sources said that the labourers were exploited in over 200 Hattar Industrial Estate factories and most of them pay Rs10,000 to Rs12,000 wages per month to workers, who were supposed to work for 12 hours.

The sources said that workers were not paid extra money for work for extended hours and owners deduct their salaries if they fail to show up for work for one reason or the other.

In most factories, owners provide no other facilities including health insurance to the workers.

The K-P labour department has turned a blind eye to the exploitation of poor workers despite their repeated complaints about violation of labour laws. Some sources claimed that some factory owners bribe the labour department officials through expensive gifts on a weekly and monthly basis.

According to the sources, workers were hired with a formal contract or agreement and they were fired with one stroke of the pen.

At the time of hiring, workers are told to be paid Rs20,000 per month, but at the end of the month, they are paid a maximum of Rs15,000 while on paper, most factories claim to pay them Rs 25,000 per month.

Most workers said that they could not do anything and if they demand full wages, they were threatened with termination without notice.

Officials at the labor office secretariat in Haripur claimed that they take every possible measure to get labourers their monthly salary and dues as per policy. They said that notices were been issued to factories on the complaint of workers.

According to the minimum wage law, all sectors are obligated to pay a minimum of Rs25,000 monthly salary to workers.

The officials claimed that whenever they receive a complaint from labourers and workers, they promptly act to address their complaints.

Sources said that middlemen or contractors reportedly exploit the situation and pay low wages to the workers as they get the paper signed by the workers at the time of their hiring, due to which, they can neither go to court nor take their grievances to any government agency.

According to the sources, several workers were fired in the past after they lodged complaints to the labour office and the deputy commissioner's office.

In case of an accident, no allowance, financial assistance or medical facility is provided to the workers and they are sent home forever by giving them a month's salary.

The sources claimed that due to the alleged collusion of the departments concerned and factory owners, workers were not getting their rights.

Sources in the labour department said the orders regarding the minimum wage can truly be enforced if the labour officers and inspectors were given the right to impose heavy fines on violators.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2022.