NA committee questions unpaid minimum wage at Overseas Pakistanis Foundation

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development has questioned why a public institution under the ministry has not paid the minimum daily wage approved in the 2026-27 federal budget, four months after the government announced it.

At a meeting chaired by Syed Rafiullah, the committee recorded serious concern over the failure to implement the rates for workers of the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation. Rafiullah asked why the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis had not acted on the minimum daily wage rates announced during the budget session in June 2026, saying the private sector was bound to implement the government's announcement while a public-sector institution had not done so after four months.

"Officers in grades 20 to 22 instantly implement government announcements regarding increases in their salaries, perks and privileges, but they are not ready to implement the same for poor workers," Rafiullah said. "The poor workers have to wait for a Board meeting and its subsequent approval."

Federal Secretary for the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry told the committee that under the prescribed procedure the ministry's Board must approve the rates announced by the federal government, and that a Board meeting would be convened for the purpose. He said a resolution would be approved at the next meeting within the coming days, and that once it passed there would be no need for Board approval in future.

The committee expressed reservations over the replies on minimum wage payment and recommended that every board and organisation under the ministry adopt rules or a mechanism so the revised wage is paid as soon as the federal government announces an increase.

Reviewing the coal mine incident at Sorrange in Balochistan, the committee was told that three inspectors had been suspended by the provincial Mines Department and two officials by the Labour Department, that First Information Reports had been lodged and show-cause notices issued to the companies concerned, and that 34 cheques had been handed to the Deputy Commissioner for distribution among the affected families.

The committee recommended that all provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan raise financial grants to workers affected by such incidents to Rs 3 million. It also called for better salary packages, allied benefits and financial protection for mine workers and their families, stricter compliance with safety standards and the supply of protective equipment.

The committee sought complete details of the investment portfolio and interest income of all departments under the ministry, and recommended that the Workers Welfare Fund place before it the details of every proposal submitted to its Board at future meetings.

It deferred the Employees' Old-Age Benefits (Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Emigration (Amendment) Bill, 2026, along with its review of recommendations concerning the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment.

The meeting was attended by MNAs Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti, Dr Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto, Fateh Ullah Khan, Mohammad Ilyas Choudhary, Sofia Saeed Shah (virtually), Saeeda Jamshid, Mian Khan Bugti, Farhan Chishti and Erum Hamid, along with Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Chaudhry Salik Hussain, the secretary and senior officials of the ministry, EOBI, the OPF, the Ministry of Law and Justice and the Labour and Mines Departments of the Balochistan government.