CAA and minimum wage

As members of ‘Citizens for Equal Rights’, we deeply appreciate the positive and early response of the CAA in raising the salaries of all janitorial staff at Jinnah Airport to Rs15,000 and giving them the increased salary by cheques on March 19, 2019. Even this partial implementation of the law of minimum wages has benefitted hundreds of down-trodden and exploited individuals who perform janitorial tasks for the CAA. Having taken the first legal step, the CAA is requested to comply with three other mandatory legal requirements. Firstly, the law of minimum wages should be implemented on all contracted janitorial staff at all CAA airports and offices in Pakistan. Secondly, the law of minimum wages in Sindh is Rs16200 per month and not Rs15,000. Therefore, the wages of all CAA janitors anywhere in Sindh should be raised to Rs16,200.

Finally, in response to our request for information, the CAA has so far failed to comply with the Federal Right for Access to Information Act 2017, Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act 2016 and Article 19A of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. We see no reason why the CAA, a state-run organisation, should itself be seen as a major violator of the laws laid down by the state.

Naeem Sadiq

Karachi