their factory, they are bound to give him the minimum wages. The current minimum wage is Rs13,000 per month that is given to an inexperienced worker, which is the same that they give to a worker having experience of that job of seven years.
She said this demotivates the experienced workers to enhance their productivity. The state and the manufacturers should enhance the skills of their workers that are willing to attend skill upgradation classes. After proper certification their productive capabilities will increase and they will automatically get better wages, she said.
She warned that Pakistan would continue to lose its export markets if the productivity is not improved. In the last 10 years, the manufacturing productivity rose by more than 50 percent in India and South Korea, which has enhanced their exports, as well.
Certified Public Accountant Asif Ali Shahid said that around a year back high energy and power costs were understandable in Pakistan that produced 40 percent of electricity from expensive furnace oil. In other countries the power production from furnace oil ranged from five to seven percent, as electricity was generated from low-cost fuel, he said, adding that now the furnace oil rates are at 30 percent of June 13 level despite enhancement of sales tax on this fuel. He said the power production cost of furnace oil-based fuels has drastically reduced that called for a similar reduction in the power rates.
The government instead of taking a productive enhancement measure opted for public appeasing measure of reducing the rates of petrol and diesel. The power rates, he said, have been kept at December 2013 level. The government is technically correct when it says that the power rates have not been increased in the last two years; however, the benefit of lower oil rates has not been passed on to the power consumers that have kept the manufacturing costs high, Shahid said. This was the right time to bring the power rates at par with the regional economies because of lowered oil rates, he said, adding that other issues impacting the competitiveness are logistics costs.
Railways is practically non-functional as far as the goods haulage is concerned. The truck fares have not declined in line with the decrease in fuel rates. Competitiveness has also been impacted due to many other factors that increase the cost of doing business, including cost of registering, starting and winding up a business, cumbersome tax procedures and presence of corruption, he added.