Govt keeps minimum wage unchanged: finance minister
Business
The minimum wage will remain at its current level
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The government has decided not to increase the minimum wage, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced during a post-budget presser on Tuesday.
"The minimum wage will remain at its current level," he stated, adding that it should be viewed in the context of inflation.
Responding to criticism over salary hikes, the finance minister said, “If we talk about raising salaries of government employees, then ministers' salaries should also be reviewed.”
He pointed out that the salaries of the Senate chairman, deputy chairman, National Assembly speaker, and deputy speaker were recently increased.
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When questioned about whether their salaries had been raised from Rs250,000 to Rs2.15 million per month, the minister remarked that the focus should be on when ministers, ministers of state, and parliamentarians last received a salary adjustment.
“The cabinet ministers’ salaries were last increased in 2016. If raises had been made annually, the recent hike would not seem abrupt,” he explained.
Last year, the Finance Ministry increased the minimum wage from Rs32,000 to Rs37,000 per month.
