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| May 16, 2005 | Monday | Rabi-us-Sani 7, 1426 |
Increase in minimum wage not implemented
ISLAMABAD, May 15: The government’s decision to increase minimum wage from Rs2,500 to Rs3,000 is yet to be implemented as differences between representatives of workers and those of employers in WEBCOP persist, official sources told Dawn here on Sunday.
WEBCOP is an organization representing both industrialists and workers. They alleged that the representatives of employers in WEBCOP were dragging their feet over the issue. The representatives of workers could not influence the representatives of employers in WEBCOP because the body had been so structured as to give a greater leverage to the latter, sources said.
They recalled that President General Pervez Musharraf had announced about Rs500 increase in the minimum wages in December last year. Since the announcement by the president, they said, the Minister of Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, had been saying the issue would be resolved in a couple of months, but the deadlock had persisted.
It could be months before the matter is resolved as it would have to go through the Minimum Wage Council (MWC) of the ministry, the sources added. The minimum wage for industrial workers was last enhanced in 2001 from Rs2,100 to Rs2,500.
Although the Labour Policy 2002 binds the government to review the minimum wage every two years, yet this provision of the policy had been consistently violated, sources said. Inflation had more than doubled since 2001, but the government seemed to be unable to make the employers comply with its decision they said.
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