"The Bitter Brews of Fast Fashion", 7 November 2021

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In a notification by the Sindh Government’s Labour and Human Resources Department, issued on July 9, 2021, the government stated that it was “pleased to declare the minimum rates of wages [at] 25,000 rupees per month for unskilled adult and juvenile workers…”

The notification added that this would apply to all unskilled adult and juvenile workers employed in all industrial and commercial establishments in Sindh, with effect from July 1, 2021. It also reiterated that the working hours and conditions of overtime work and work on holidays etc will be regulated by the Sindh Factories Act, 2015, the Payment of Wages Act, 2015 and other relevant labour laws.

...soon the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the SITE (Sindh Industrial Trading Estates) Association and other trade associations petitioned against the order. The decision to increase the minimum wage from 17,000 rupees to 25,000 rupees had irked the industrialists, who pointed out that they were not taken on board before making the decision.

They said that they would have no option but to move out of Karachi,...and relocate to places such as Punjab, where the policies are more favourable for them. According to a Dawn report, Zubair Motiwala, chairman of the Businessmen Group and the Council of All Pakistan Textile Association (Capta), had argued that when the tariff and rates of petrol, diesel, gas and electricity in the entire country were the same, then what was the justification of fixing a higher minimum wage in Sindh as opposed to other provinces.

The Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (Kati) president Saleemuz Zaman had declared that the Sindh government’s decision was “the last nail in the coffin of the already struggling industrial sector”, according to Dawn...

Still, last month the Sindh High Court again upheld the government’s decision to fix the minimum wage at 25,000 rupees. The court directed the provincial government to review the minimum wages, but also directed the government to ensure payment of the amount till the review of the declaration.

The pushback continues. Meanwhile Rafiq, and thousands of other labourers such as him, have yet to receive the new minimum wage...