On May 1, the federal government announced that wages will be increased from Rs6,000 to Rs7,000 in the next financial year. This raise was also announced in the budget presented by the government. The National Assembly approved the budget but the notification has yet to be issued.
In the past, the federal government was responsible for any notifications on increased wages but since the enforcement of the 18th amendment, the responsibility has been passed down to the provincial government.
It was the governments of all other provinces that announced an increase of Rs1,000 in wages.
Officials claimed that Punjab is the only province where the notification, to this effect, has been issued and labourers in the province have been receiving an increased salary for two months now.
When labour unions created hue and cry over the delay, workers found out that the Sindh labour ministry was unaware of the new procedures and was waiting for the notification to be issued from the federal government. The Ministry of Labour has yet to send a summary to the Sindh chief minister and that is expected to further delay the implementation of the decision.
According to provincial Minister for Labour Amir Nawab Khan, a summary has been prepared. To avoid further delays, Khan promised to take the summary to the chief minister personally and get his signature.
Works Manager of Universal Cable Gauharul Islam said that he and other industrialists inquired about the notification several times from the labour directorate but he was told that the notification has not been issued yet.
Industrialists in more than five industrial zones in Karachi want to raise the salaries of their workers but cannot do it until it is official, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 21st, 2010.
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