"SC declares Sindh govt move illegal", 28 March 2022

The top court has ruled that the Sindh government travelled beyond its authority and encroached upon the mandate of the Minimum Wages Board by issuing a notification of raising the minimum rates of wages for unskilled adult and juvenile workers employed in all industrial/commercial establishments in the province to Rs25,000 per month with effect from July 1, 2021.

"Taking into consideration the provisions of the (Sindh Minimum Wages Act, 2015) Act and the objective behind it, we are of the view that the Government travelled beyond its authority to encroach upon the mandate of the Board and issued the Notification without lawful authority,” an eight-page judgment authored by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah said while setting aside the Sindh High Court order wherein raise of minimum wage was endorsed.

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial heard the matter...

The court emphasised that it was concerned with the legality, and not the merits of the decision of the government...

"The Act makes the Government responsible for fixing the minimum rates of wages in certain industrial undertakings. It is the Government that takes cognisance of the circumstances necessitating fixation of the minimum rates of wages and sets the ball rolling by either referring the question of fixation of the minimum rates of wages to the Board under Section 4 of the Act or directing the Board under Section 5 of the Act to make recommendations on the said rates of wages and then the Government accepts the recommendations of the Board with or without exceptions or modifications or sends it back for reconsideration."

The judgment said that once the board submits its recommendations to the government, the government cannot but act in a manner prescribed under Section 6 of the Act

"In this case, the Government decided to revisit the minimum rates of wages and the Board recommended that the minimum rates of wages be increased to Rs19,000 per month. The Government not agreeing with the recommendation of the Board and without sending the matter back to the Board as mandated by the Act, proceeded on its own to issue the Notification after increasing the minimum rates of wages to Rs25,000 per month,” the judgment said.

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