Rs25,000 minimum wage: CM says will ensure payment, hints at raising it further

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah Wednesday said that an unprecedented Tsunami of price hike in the country has deprived poor people of simple bread and butter - people are in severe pain and have no courage to cry, therefore the provincial government, just to give some relief to the low-paid employees in public and private sector, has decided to ensure payment of Rs25,000 minimum wage and may increase it further.

“For the purpose, we are setting up a forum at the Labour and Industries Departments to ensure proper implementation of the government decisions in the public as well as private sector.”

This he said while addressing a press conference just after presiding over a Cabinet meeting at the CM House. He was accompanied by Labour Minister Saeed Ghani, Education Minister Sardar Shah and Industries Minister Ikramullah Dharejo.

Shah said that the cabinet unanimously has expressed serious reservations against defective, immature, and unrealistic policies which have ended up in a record price hike in which even white-collar people are unable to afford square meals for their families. “This is quite a painful situation,” he said and added this was why the cabinet decided to task the Labour and Industries departments to implement payment of minimum wage of Rs25,000 in all government organizations and in the private sector.

The CM recalled that when his government had enhanced minimum wage from Rs17,500 to Rs25,000 he was criticized by the federal government- “but keeping in view the situation and capabilities of the federal government which has ruin its precious time in crushing its political opponents and promulgating ordinances, had taken the important decisions which has become need of the time these days,” he said.

Atta prices: To a question, Murad said that the federal government had failed to stop wheat smuggling last year and has also failed this year, as a result atta prices have increased considerably. He added that in Sindh Rs77 per kg atta was available but where atta prices of Rs55 per kg were being claimed by the federal ministers were not fit for even cattle consumption.

He said that the policy of the federal government was peculiar in the sense that it passes the buck of its all failures to its previous governments but as a matter of fact it has failed completely.

Malir Expressway: The chief minister, replying to a question regarding Malir expressway said that its alignment was changed a bit to save some old villages but with the change of alignment cost of the project has increased. The change in alignment was not acceptable to some of the stakeholders therefore his government has decided to take all the stakeholders on board. He added that this was the reason that the project has been delayed.

Teachers recruitment: Talking about recruitment of teachers, Murad Ali Shah said that the School education department had announced 23,510 vacancies for Primary School Teachers (PST) and 14039 of Junior Elementary School (JEST) against which 18,4209 candidates appeared for PST and 1,64319 for JEST, of them 11549 qualified the test for PST and 01385 for JEST respectively.

He said that the cabinet discussed the situation and decided to waive the condition of 45 percent marks and 50 percent marks were approved for minorities and girls and 33 percent for hard areas and differently abled persons to qualify the test. “In this way the vacancies would be filled to run the schools which are facing dearth of teachers,” he said and added the left over candidates who have qualified the test under the newly approved criteria but could not be appointed due to non-availability of vacancies, would be placed on waiting list for one year.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021