Who is really responsible for highlighting these injustices and putting an end to them?
Every morning before dawn breaks over Karachi, Asadullah Khan steps out of his small rented room near Ziauddin Hospital in Clifton. After Fajr prayers, he sets out on foot for Saddar – a two-hour walk covering nearly 10 kilometres – to reach his post as a security guard before his 12-hour shift begins. Clad in a fading navy blue uniform, he stands or sits outside a worn-out building, earning only Rs25,000 per month for guarding the premises under the punishing sun.
By noon, the suffocating humidity forces him to remove his sweat-soaked shirt and dry it in front of a rickety fan in the parking lot – stealing brief moments to cool down before getting back to work. At 7 pm, exhausted, he begins his long walk back home, returning to a one-room space he shares with his wife and children.
“I pay Rs7,000 for rent, but somehow we survive,” he says with a smile that does little to hide the weariness etched deep into his features.
What Asadullah does not know is that his salary is over 30% below Pakistan’s legal minimum wage. For the 2024-25 fiscal year, the federal minimum wage was set at Rs37,000 – a 15.6% increase from the previous year. Yet, even as the government maintained this wage level for 2025-26, implementation remains a distant dream.
The Sindh Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee recently revealed that over 80% of private industrial units in the province are not paying the minimum wage. According to Nasir Mansoor, General Secretary of the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), nearly 95% of factories deny their workers their lawful earnings.
When asked what salary he believed he deserved, Asadullah replied softly, “Maybe Rs30,000?”
The Unseen Theft
In a cramped, stifling room in Ranchor Line, Karachi, another story unfolds. Wearing a once-bright turquoise kurta now faded and stained, Manesh Das* wipes sweat from his brow. He left his family in Tando Mohammad Khan months ago to escape bonded labour under a zamindar who paid him only in crops.
But Karachi has offered little relief. Sweeping streets from 8 am to 3 pm every day, Das earns Rs15,600 a month in weekly instalments, managing to send just Rs8,000-10,000 home.
“Even going home costs Rs4,000 to Rs5,000 – I can’t afford it,” he says quietly.
Labour rights activist Naeem Sadiq explains that under law, an unskilled worker is entitled to Rs37,000 monthly for an 8-hour daily shift, with overtime paid at double hourly rates. He cites the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) as a case of large-scale ‘wage theft’. With nearly 12,000 sanitation workers on their rolls, each earning around Rs20,000 instead of Rs37,000, Sadiq calculates over Rs2.4 billion in annual stolen wages.
“Imagine, Rs17,000 stolen per person per month for 12,000 workers – it adds up to billions being siphoned off,” he says.
SSWMB Managing Director Tariq Ali Nizamani maintains that contractors are instructed to pay the minimum wage, claiming, “We have not received any complaint about underpayment.”
However, on the ground, workers tell a different story. Hussain Amir*, a rickshaw driver formerly employed by an SSWMB contractor as a garbage truck driver earning Rs32,000, was fired for raising his voice over wages. He returned months later on a reduced salary of Rs25,000.
According to Zulfiqar Shah, Chairman of the All Pakistan Local Government Workers Federation, contractors avoid issuing formal letters to prevent unionisation. Many workers like Das and his colleague Karim Akash* were hired through multiple layers of subcontractors without any written agreement, their attendance marked daily through photographs.
“They keep us invisible so we can’t complain,” Akash says, explaining how his contractor pays him in cash weekly after supervisors count the workers.
Is the Minimum Wage Enough?
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) estimates that a family of six requires at least Rs75,000 per month to cover basic needs such as food, rent, utilities, healthcare, and education.
Ahead of the 2025-26 budget, the PPP demanded an increase in minimum wage to Rs50,000. Citing World Bank data, PPP Labour Bureau head Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed noted that 44% of Pakistan’s population lives below the poverty line, urging better health coverage and benefits for industrial workers.
Yet for workers like Hina Amin*, a machine operator in a denim factory in Korangi, even timely salary payments seem like a far-fetched demand. Before she could be asked about wages, she vented her frustration:
“Why do people work? To survive. We have to protest for our own salaries, and if we raise our voices, they throw us out.”
Amin earns the legal minimum of Rs37,000 but spends at least Rs60 daily on transport, apart from rent and groceries. There is no canteen at the factory, and strict attendance rules lead to salary deductions even if she arrives minutes before her shift.
“First, they should at least pay us on time so we don’t have to take loans for rent. Then we can talk about an increase,” she said, her voice heavy with resignation.
Activist Naeem Sadiq agrees that a fair minimum wage should be at least Rs60,000. But, he stresses, “This discussion can only begin once workers actually receive the legal minimum. Right now, we are fighting for every morsel and every breath.”
