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THE
(W.P. Ord. XX of 1969)
C O N T E N T S
Sections
1. Short title, extent, commencement and application.
2. Definitions.
3. Minimum wages in commercial and industrial establishments.
4. Responsibility for payment of minimum wages.
5. Agreements under duress to be void.
6. Effect of laws, orders, agreements, etc., inconsistent with this Ordinance.
7. Penalty.
8. Cognizance of offences.
SCHEDULE
[1]THE
(W.P. Ordinance XX of 1969)
[
An Ordinance to fix the minimum
rates of wages for unskilled workers employed in certain commercial and
industrial establishments
in
Preamble.— WHEREAS it is expedient to
fix the minimum rates of wages for unskilled workers employed in certain
commercial and industrial establishments
in
NOW, THEREFORE, in pursuance
of the Martial Law Proclamation of 25th March, 1969, read with the Provisional
Constitution Order, the
Administrator of Martial Law, Zone ‘A’, in exercise of
the powers of the Governor of West Pakistan conferred on him by the President
and Chief Martial Law Administrator, is pleased to make and promulgate the
following Ordinance:-
1. Short title, extent, commencement and application.— (1) This Ordinance may be called the West Pakistan Minimum Wages for Unskilled Workers Ordinance, 1969.
(2) It
extends to the whole of [2][
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on and from the first day of July, 1969.
(4) It shall apply to every commercial and industrial establishment wherein fifty or more persons are employed or were employed on any day during the preceding twelve months, but shall not apply to—
(a) persons in the service of
(b) any establishment, undertaking or installation relating to the defence services, civil armed forces, postal, telegraph and telephone services, ports, railways, fire-fighting services, electricity, gas, water-supply, public conservancy and hospitals; and
(c) any establishment or undertaking, which Government, by notification in the official Gazette, declares to be engaged in a public utility service for the purposes of this Ordinance.
2. Definitions.— In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires—
(a) “apprentice” means a learner who is paid an allowance during the period of training;
(b) “commercial establishment” means an establishment in which the
business of advertising, commission or forwarding is conducted, or
which is a
commercial agency, and includes a clerical department of a factory or of any
industrial or commercial undertaking, the
office establishment of a person who
for the purpose of fulfilling a contract with the owner of any commercial
establishment or industrial
establishment, employees workmen, a unit of a joint
stock company, an insurance company, a banking company or a bank, a broker’s
office or stock-exchange, a club, a hotel, a restaurant or an eating house, a cinema
or theatre and such other establishment or class
thereof, as Government may, by
notification in the official Gazette, declare to be a commercial establishment
for the purposes of
this Ordinance;
(c) “employer” means a person owning or having charge of the business
of a commercial or industrial establishment and includes an agent
or manager or
any other person acting on behalf of such person in the general management or
control of such establishment;
(d) “Government” means the [4][Provincial Government];
(e) “industrial area” means the districts of Hyderabad, Lyallpur, Lahore, Multan and Sheikhpura and Kotri Taluka in Dadu District, and any other area which Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, declare to be an industrial area for the purposes of this Ordinance;
(f) “industrial establishment” means—
(i) a mine or quarry;
(ii) a workshop or other establishment in which the work of making,
altering, repairing, ornamenting, finishing or packing or otherwise
treating
any article or substance with a view to its use, sale, transport, delivery or
disposal is carried on, or where any such
service is rendered to a customer;
and
(iii) any other establishment which Government may, by notification in the official Gazette declare to be an industrial establishment;
(g) “wages” means all cash remuneration payable to a workman, and includes dearness allowance, house-rent, conveyance allowance [5][, cost of living allowance, special allowances] and any other fixed allowance, but does not include travelling allowance, gratuity or bonus;
(h) “unskilled worker” means a worker employed to do unskilled labour; and
(i) “worker” means any person employed in a commercial or industrial establishment.
3. Minimum wages in commercial and industrial
establishments.— Every unskilled
worker, other than an apprentice, employed in a commercial or industrial
establishment situated in an area specified
in column 1 of the Schedule, shall
be paid wages at a rate not lower than the minimum wages per month specified
against such area
in column 2 of the Schedule:
Provided that where an
employer provides housing accommodation to a worker, he may deduct from the
wages of such a worker, an amount
not exceeding that specified in column 3 of
the Schedule and where the employer provides a worker with transport to and
from the
place of work, he may deduct from the wages of such a worker an amount
not exceeding that specified in column 4 of the Schedule.
[6][Explanation— In this section,–
(i) “month” means a normal working period of twenty-six days calculated at thee rate of forty-eight hours of work per week; and
(ii) “wages” includes cost of living allowance as admissible under the Employees’ Cost of Living (Relief) Act, 1973 (I of 1974), dearness allowance and special allowances announced by the Government from time to time, before the commencement of the West Pakistan Minimum Wages for Unskilled Workers (Amendment) Act, 1993.]
4. Responsibility for payment of minimum wages.— (1) Every employer shall be responsible for the payment of minimum wages required to be paid under this Ordinance to all unskilled workers employed, either directly or through a contractor, in his commercial or industrial establishment.
(2) Where an unskilled worker employed in a commercial or industrial establishment to which this ordinance applies has been paid wages for the month of July, 1969, at a rate less than the minimum rate of wages to which he is entitled under this Ordinance, the employer shall, within thirty days of the promulgation of this Ordinance, pay such worker the difference between the amount actually paid to him and the amount to which he is entitled under this Ordinance.
5. Agreements under duress to be void.— All agreements arrived at between the employers and the workers under duress at any time during the period from the 1st day of March, 1969 to the 25th day of March, 1969, shall, with effect from the date of coming into force of this Ordinance, be void.
Explanation— In this section the words “under duress” include circumstances in which due to fear either party is in a state of mental incompetence to resist pressure improperly brought to bear due to violence or threat of violence.
6. Effect of laws, orders, agreements, etc., inconsistent with this Ordinance.— The provisions of this Ordinance shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law or in any order or notification made or issued under any such law or in any award, agreement or contract of service:
Provided that where under any such law, order, notification, award, agreement or contract of service, other than an agreement declared to be void under section 5, an unskilled worker is entitled to wages which are higher than the minimum wages required to be paid under this Ordinance, he shall continue to be paid such higher wages.
7. Penalty.— Any employer who contravenes any provisions of this Ordinance shall be punishable with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both.
8. Cognizance of offences.— No Court shall take cognizance of any offence
under this Ordinance save on a complaint made by an aggrieved worker or by an
officer
of a registered trade union of which such worker is a member, or any
person authorised in this behalf by Government.
[7][SCHEDULE
[See SECTION 3]
Area |
Rate of minimum wages per month |
Deduction for providing housing
accommodation |
Deduction for providing transport |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
Rs. |
Rs. |
Rs. |
Karachi
District |
1500 p.m. |
25 p.m. |
10 p.m. |
Industrial
area |
1500 p.m. |
20 p.m. |
5 p.m. |
Other
areas |
1500 p.m. |
13 p.m. |
2 p.m.] |
[1]This Ordinance was
promulgated by the Administrator Martial Law, Zone ‘A’, on 25th August, 1969;
published in the West Pakistan Gazette
(Extraordinary), dated 1st September,
1969, pages 1399-1403; saved by Article 281 of the Interim Constitution of
Pakistan (1972),
and, validated by the Validation of Laws Act, 1975 (LXIII of
1975).
[2]Substituted, for “the
Province of West Pakistan, except the Tribal Areas”, by the Federal Adaptation
of Laws Order, 1975 (P.O. 4 of
1975).
[3]Substituted ibid., for “Article 242 of the
Constitution of 1962.”
[4]Substituted by the Federal
Adaptation of Laws Order, 1975 (P.O. 4 of 1975), for “Government of West
Pakistan”.
[5]Inserted by the West Pakistan
Minimum Wages For Unskilled Workers (Amendment) Act, 1993 (Federal Act IX of
1993), effective from the
first day of July, 1992.
[6]Substituted by the West Pakistan Minimum Wages For Unskilled Workers (Amendment) Act, 1993 (Federal Act IX of 1993), effective from the first day of July, 1992.
[7]Substituted by the West Pakistan Minimum Wages For Unskilled Workers (Amendment) Act, 1993 (Federal Act IX of 1993), effective from the first day of July, 1992.
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