n May 1 this year, Naeem Bhatti was at work, manning the gate of a media house in Gulberg, even though it was a public holiday. Had he taken the day off, his employers would’ve deducted a thousand bucks from his salary, he says.

Bhatti’s take-home salary is Rs 30,000 a month. His duty starts at 7 in the morning and ends at 7 in the evening. That’s 12 hours flat. On a usual workday, he is entitled to one meal and two cups of tea.

Bhatti has heard about the Punjab chief minister’s recently launched campaign to ensure that all workers in the province receive a minimum monthly wage of Rs 37,000. In March, the CM had ordered that no worker should have to face starvation and that educational opportunities for workers’ children should be enhanced. The Labour Welfare Department claims the campaign for the enforcement of minimum wage is in full swing. But things haven’t changed for Bhatti — not so far.

On September 5, 2024, the Punjab government officially fixed the minimum wage for the fiscal year 2024-25 under Section 6 of the Punjab Minimum Wage Act, 2019, through a gazette notification covering 102 trades. The minimum monthly wage is now Rs 37,000 for 26 working days a month. This amounts to Rs 1,423.07 per day for eight hours of work, and Rs 177.88 per hour.

The employers are allowed to offer higher wages based on factors such as skill levels, experience and the cost of living in a specific area.

The notification also permits employers to deduct accommodation and transport costs, set at Rs 459.03 and Rs 98.28 per month, respectively.

As per the figures shared by the director general of Labour Welfare, Syeda Kulsoom Haye, between September 2024 and April 2025, the department conducted a total of 120,335 inspections across various establishments to ensure enforcement of the minimum wage law. As a result, 53,924 prosecutions were lodged; 12,270 cases were decided; and fines amounting to Rs 14.23 million were imposed. Moreover, 44,444 establishments were found complying with the minimum wage requirements; benefiting 974,316 workers. Additionally, the department received 1,385 complaints related to wages during the same period. Of these, 1,259 were resolved while 126 are under process.

Khalid Mahmood, the director of Labour Education Foundation, who claims to have been working closely with brick kiln, textile and home-based workers, says the campaign is headed in the right direction, but some key areas have been overlooked.

He is of the view that the government must not only consider wage rates but also working hours. “The minimum wage is for workers who have an 8-hour workday. Besides, most workers are supposed to be skilled. Therefore, skilled labour wages should be implemented.

“Every category of skilled labour has a separate wage rate, as clearly mentioned in the [minimum wage] notification for different industries. So there’s no need for further clarification; only timely implementation is required,” he adds.

According to Mahmood, in most industries, the labour works 10-12 hours a day. “In that case, they must be paid overtime at double the regular rate, as per law.”

“Even if minimum wages are properly enforced, we’re actually talking about the need for a living wage which, as the trade unions say, should be Rs 75,000 per month.”

Another major issue is that when workers are not registered with the Social Security Institution, they have to bear their medical expenses, which effectively means they lose a major chunk of their income. Rising inflation, increased petrol prices and high house rents make further dent on their pockets. Most workers’ income is spent on rent, utility bills and transportation. They are left with very little to spend on food and nothing at all for their children’s education and healthcare.

Wages are a critical issue, and all these aspects must be considered. How can workers meet all these expenses if their wages don’t reflect the cost of living? According to Mahmood, “Even if minimum wages are properly enforced, we’re actually talking about the need for a living wage which, as the trade unions say, should be Rs 75,000 per month. So that’s a very serious situation.

“And that is also why big industries must be held accountable and made an example of by ensuring implementation.”

According to an LEF report, in the brick kiln sector, the wages notified for pathair wala (raw brick maker) are Rs 2,738 per thousand ordinary raw bricks. Yet, the workers are being paid only Rs 1,000. Similarly, nikasi wala should receive Rs 693 but he’s getting only Rs 230; while rehra wala is legally entitled to Rs 889 but gets paid only Rs 340 per thousand bricks in central Punjab. Even lower wages are reported in northern and southern regions of the province.

In the textile and garments industry, the implementation of the minimum wage remains equally unsatisfactory. Unskilled workers are paid between Rs 25,000 and Rs 33,000 even though they work 10 to 12 hours a day without overtime compensation. According to the official notification, Skilled-A workers should earn Rs 41,815, Semi-Skilled-A workers Rs 39,088; and Semi-Skilled-B workers Rs 38,348 per month.

Mahmood says that while compliance is slightly better in factories producing for international brands, the wages still fall short when calculated according to legal working hours and overtime. Meanwhile, local consumption units in the textile and garment sector are significantly underpaying their workers, violating the minimum wage laws.

Umme Laila Azhar of Homenet says a living wage is imperative to decent working conditions and economic stability of workers in all sectors, especially the textile sector. “However, its implementation remains a challenge due to financial constraints, weak compliance mechanisms and resistance from buyers and factory owners,” she says in her research on the topic.

She also raises the question of minimum wage, saying that a “living wage is what a full-time worker must earn on an hourly basis to help cover the cost of their family’s basic needs while being self-sufficient. Almost all existing definitions view living wage — a wage received as remuneration for a standard workweek in a particular place — as ensuring a standard living for workers and their families, enabling their access to basic necessities such as food, housing, clothing, education and health care.”

Mahmood, however, says that most workers complain of illegal deductions made under the pretext of advance payments. “These advance payments are considered bonded labour, which is illegal,” he says. “Yet these are offered and then deducted from the [workers’] wages.

“On top of that, the full wage rate isn’t paid. This is happening in a major city like Lahore, so you can imagine how bad the situation must be in south Punjab.”

Talking about large garments factories, he says that minimum wage laws are generally being followed. But in smaller units — especially those that produce for local brands — there are frequent violations. “Workers there often work 12-hour shifts and earn only slightly more than the minimum wage, because part of their earnings comes from overtime.”

Again, the overtime is almost never paid at double rate, as dictated by law. Only a few factories follow that provision.

In the informal sector, Mahmood says, the situation is even worse: “Workers in small units are paid as little as Rs 15,000 a month, which is way below the legal minimum.”

Ahsan Malik is a media veteran interested in politics, consumer rights and entrepreneurship