ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics has suggested in its policy brief that the minimum wage should be increased from Rs 40,000 to Rs 45,000 per month in the budget of 2026-27 as per the ratio of inflation.
The institute says that the current Rs 37,000 is insufficient to meet household needs in view of inflation and daily expenses. PIDE has also given separate indications for the provinces, according to which the minimum wage should be fixed at Rs 45,000 in Punjab, Rs 46,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, and Rs 45,500 in Balochistan.
The organization has emphasized that 80 percent of workers work in the informal sector, so just announcing it is not enough; a system of implementation and monitoring should also be created.
Demands are also coming from political parties. The PPP has demanded a minimum wage of Rs 50,000, while Qaumi Awami Tehreek leader Ayaz Latif Palijo has suggested increasing it to Rs 60,000 in the context of inflation.
Citizens are complaining on social media that Rs 41,700 is being mentioned officially, but in practice, workers in factories and shops are not getting more than Rs 22,000. Experts say that the minimum wage is announced in the budget, but due to its non-implementation, millions of workers are still forced to work for low wages.
The Punjab government has indicated a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage, along with a 7 percent increase in the salaries of government employees and a 3.5 percent increase in pensions in its provincial budget.
It is expected that the federal government may also increase it by between 7 and 10 percent. If Rs 37,000 is increased by 10 percent, the new minimum wage will be Rs 40,700.
For daily wage workers, this will mean that if Rs 45,000 is fixed per month, the daily wage will be approximately Rs 1,731 for 26 days of work. The final decision will be made later, after which the provinces will be able to set higher wages according to their economic situation.
In the budget for the last fiscal year 2025-26, the government had maintained the minimum monthly wage at Rs 37,000, and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had clarified that there was no increase in it. Earlier, in 2024-25, it was increased from Rs 32,000 to Rs 37,000. Before the budget.
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