Irony: Govt Departments Found Violating Pakistan’s Minimum Wage Law

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Naveed Qamar, convened a meeting where the absence of the Finance Secretary drew sharp criticism. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb participated in the meeting virtually, providing a briefing on his recent visit to the United States. He reported that international institutions expressed satisfaction with Pakistan’s structural reforms. The committee discussed the implementation of the minimum wage, revealing that several ministries and divisions, including the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis, were not adhering to the government-mandated minimum wage of Rs. 37,000. Committee member Agha Rafiullah highlighted that the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis was paying only Rs. 28,000, citing board restrictions. The Ministry of Finance responded that the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis had claimed to be paying the full minimum wage, leading Chairman Qamar to express concern over discrepancies in information provided to the assembly and the ministry. Chairman Qamar directed that the data held by Agha Rafiullah be shared with the Ministry of Finance and the media. Committee members suggested replacing the minimum wage with a living wage. The chairman proposed that a private member bring forward a bill on the matter The minister also mentioned that budget proposals from chambers of commerce would be discussed starting from February, noting that 95% of the proposals had already been received and were under government review. He further informed the committee that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) policy matters had been transferred to the Ministry of Finance, with the Director-General of Tax Policy now reporting directly to the Finance Minister. Committee member Nafisa Shah introduced the Corporate Social Responsibility Bill 2025, which was referred to a newly formed subcommittee for further deliberation. The subcommittee will be convened by Mirza Ikhtiar Baig and include members Arshad Vohra and others.. The Finance Minister assured the committee that he would address non-compliance with relevant ministers and seek explanations from defaulting ministries and divisions. The committee has requested the Ministry of Finance to provide detailed information on compliance within 30 days.