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Petitioner: SUBAY KHAN VS Respondent: FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary and Ministry of Law and 2 others
Court Name: Lahore High Court Judge(s): Syed Mansoor Ali Shah Title:SUBAY KHAN vs FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary and Ministry of
Law and 2 others Case No.: W.P. No, 7870 of 2015 Date of Judgment:2015-12-09 Reported As: PLJ 2018 Lahore 224 Result: Petition disposed of. Judgment ORDER C.M.No, 7803/2015 This is an application to place additional Documents on the record. Allowed subject to all just, and legal exceptions. C.M.No, 7804/2015 2. Dispensation prayed for is allowed subject to all just and legal exceptions. CM. disposed of. MAIN CASE. 3. This is a public interest petition praying that domestic workers should have a minimum, wage. He has placed reliance on Minimum Wages Ordinance, 1961 and definition of "workers" which includes a domestic worker in an industrial undertaking. He has also placed reliance on Domestic Workers' Convention, 2011 to support his contention. He frankly submits that Pakistan is not a signatory to the said convention but any such convention carries persuasive value and relies on Human Rights Case No, 29388-K of 2013 (PLD 2014 SC 305). 4. Learned Law Officer submit that Government has already initiated efforts in this regard and has referred to draft Punjab Domestic Workers' Policy, 2015' initiated by the Labour & Human Resource Department, Government of Punjab. 5. Learned DAG and the Standing Counsel, on the other hand, submit that the subject' of labour/ employment has devolved to the Provinces. They referred to Section 55-A of the Provincial Employees' Social Security Ordinance, 1965 which provides that every employer of a domestic worker must provide medical facility to the domestic workers. 6. This is an important issue and it appears that in the light of the law referred to above, the
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domestic workers are being unduly discriminated. It is now a settled principle that equal work must carry equal pay, this, principle rests on Article 3 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973. 7. Without prejudice to the above, the issue of minimum wages for domestic workers requires legislation and is, therefore, a policy issue. Therefore, a copy of this petition and order is dispatched to Secretary, Labour & Human Resource Department, Government of Punjab with the hope and expectation that Government of Punjab will consider the possibility of legislation on the subject. 8. Disposed of.