KARACHI: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sindh Assembly was informed on Wednesday that over 80 per cent of private industrial units were not implementing the order of minimum wage.

The PAC meeting, headed by its Chairman Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, directed the provincial labour department and Sindh Employees’ Social Security Institution (SESSI) to ensure the strict implementation of the officially notified minimum wage of Rs37,000 to workers in all industrial units across the province.

While reviewing the audit reports of the SESSI for the years 2018 and 2019, the PAC chair­man said that non-implementation of mon­thly minimum wages in 80 per cent of private industrial units was a violation of labour laws.

He directed the SESSI and the labour department to strictly implement the policy of providing the minimum monthly wage to all workers across the province.

Committee asks labour secretary to investigate payment of Rs50m on alleged fake bills; orders audit of annual procurement of Rs9bn medicines for SESSI hospitals, dispensaries

SESSI Commissioner Miandad Rahujo told the PAC that out of 67,000 industrial units, 24,000 units were registered with the organisation. He said that 6,000 units were closed, while 18,000 industrial units were functional and over 800,000 workers of the registered units had been registered with the SESSI.

He shared that many industrial units had implemented the official minimum monthly salary to their workers, but the private security guards of private security agencies were not being paid the officially notified salary.

When asked by the PAC chairman, the SESSI commissioner said that several SESSI employees with fake degrees had been dismissed from their jobs. There were around 4,200 employees in the SESSI and their attendance was checked digitally, he added.

It was also revealed in the meeting that bogus payments of Rs50 million were made through fake bills for the repair work of SESSI institutions.

Taking notice of financial irregularities in the SESSI, the PAC directed the labour secretary to investigate the issue of the bogus payments and submit a report.

The PAC also ordered an audit of the annual procurement of medicines worth Rs9 billion for seven hospitals and 42 dispensaries of the provincial labour department.

The order was given following complaints of irregularities worth billions of rupees in the procurement of substandard medicines and machinery for the hospitals and dispensaries of the labour department.

To a question, the SESSI commissioner informed the PAC that seven hospitals and 42 dispensaries were functioning under the SESSI across the province where industrial workers were provided with health facilities.

He said that out of a fund of Rs13bn, 70pc or Rs9bn was being spent annually on purchasing medicines and healthcare services for the SESSI hospitals and dispensaries.

The SESSI commissioner added that 70pc of medicines for SESSI hospital and dispensaries were being purchased through tenders and 30pc are purchased by SESSI directors at the local level where there were problems in purchase.

He said that hospital management committees had been formed to run SESSI hospitals, while the SESSI governing body had approved a Rs1.4bn project for the infrastructure and building of Valika Hospital, the work on which would start within a year.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2025