Every morning before sunrise, thousands of factory workers and daily-wage earners across Pakistan leave their homes to begin twelve-hour shifts. They return long after dark, exhausted, yet burdened by the same agonizing question: will today’s earnings cover tonight’s dinner? A worker may spend eight, ten, or even twelve hours earning a wage and still return home unable to afford adequate food, decent housing, healthcare, and education for their children. This contradiction lies at the heart of Pakistan’s labour crisis. Employment is supposed to provide a route out of poverty, yet for millions of workers, having a job does not guarantee a dignified life. The problem is not simply unemployment or low productivity. It is an economic system in which the value of labour and the cost of living have moved increasingly far apart.
The latest Pakistan Labour Force Survey for 2024-25 puts the scale of the challenge into perspective. Average monthly wages for paid employees rose from Rs24,028 in 2020-21 to Rs39,042 in 2024-25, an increase of approximately 62% in nominal terms. Yet these figures do not automatically translate into greater purchasing power, particularly after years of high inflation. The same survey found that 80.8% of employed people were engaged in informal employment under the applicable international statistical definition, leaving only 19.2% in formal employment. For most workers, the central concern is therefore not merely how much they earn, but how secure, predictable and protected that income is.
The gap between a statutory minimum and a living wage is central to the debate. A minimum wage establishes the legal floor an employer must pay, whereas a living wage seeks to cover the reasonable costs of food, housing, healthcare, education, transport and other essential needs for a worker and their family. The two are not necessarily the same. In September 2025, Punjab notified a minimum monthly wage of Rs40,000 for unskilled workers. Sindh subsequently raised its minimum for unskilled workers to Rs43,000 from July 2026. Yet a May 2026 report in Dawn cited an estimated living wage of around Rs90,000 for a family of seven. Although living-wage estimates depend on household size, location and methodology, the comparison highlights the pressure facing low-income households.
The problem is compounded by weak enforcement. Pakistan’s labour market is dominated by informal employment, where written contracts, paid leave, social security and reliable wage payments are often absent. Domestic workers, agricultural labourers, home-based workers, daily-wage earners and workers in small enterprises can find it particularly difficult to assert their rights. The International Labour Organization has highlighted how exclusions from minimum-wage coverage and weak implementation leave many workers without effective protection. A wage notification cannot improve living standards if employers can ignore it with little risk of punishment.
Women face an additional disadvantage. An ILO study published in July 2025 found that women in wage employment in Pakistan earned approximately 25 to 30 per cent less than men, depending on the wage measure used. Occupational segregation, discrimination and women’s concentration in informal work contribute to this disparity. Many women also perform unpaid domestic and care work that sustains households and the wider economy but remains largely invisible in conventional measures of productivity. Equal pay, safe workplaces, maternity protection and access to childcare must therefore form part of any serious labour reform.
Workers also need a stronger collective voice. A May 2026 report put unionisation at just 2.2% of the employed workforce. Such limited representation weakens workers’ bargaining power in negotiations over wages, working hours and workplace safety. Trade unions are not without their own challenges, including questions of representation and accountability, but independent collective bargaining remains an important mechanism for balancing the unequal power of employers and employees. Workers should be able to organise without intimidation, while employers should have access to fair and transparent procedures for resolving disputes.
A sustainable living-wage policy must balance workers’ needs with economic realities. Abrupt increases unsupported by productivity improvements can place pressure on small businesses, encourage evasion or reduce formal hiring. But keeping wages artificially low also carries costs. It suppresses household consumption, entrenches poverty, weakens worker health and education, and allows businesses to compete through cheap labour rather than better skills, technology and efficiency. Predictable wage reviews, linked to inflation and the cost of a basic household budget, can help employers plan while protecting workers’ purchasing power.
Pakistan should strengthen labour inspections, simplify complaint procedures, extend social protection to informal and contract workers, and improve the registration of workers for social security and old-age benefits. Government procurement and export incentives should be linked to compliance with wage and workplace-safety standards. Small enterprises may need phased implementation and targeted support, but these arrangements should not become permanent exemptions from workers’ rights.
Ultimately, the fight for a living wage is about the purpose of economic growth. Rising exports, industrial output and investment matter, but their benefits must reach the people whose labour makes them possible. A wage should do more than keep a worker alive until the next working day. It should enable a family to live with dignity, educate its children and face illness or hardship without falling into destitution. A country cannot build lasting prosperity on the insecurity of those who produce its wealth.