On this page 13 sections
- Minimum wage in Pakistan at a glance
- Minimum wage in Pakistan 2026 by province
- Daily and hourly minimum wage in Pakistan
- Sindh minimum wage by skill category
- How the minimum wage changed since 2025
- KP Rs 45,000: announced, not notified
- Who the minimum wage covers in Pakistan
- What counts as wages
- Minimum wage and EOBI contributions in Pakistan
- Minimum wage and income tax
- What to do if your employer pays less than the minimum wage
- Mistakes to avoid
- FAQ
The minimum wage in Pakistan in 2026 is not one number: Sindh pays Rs 43,000 a month, Islamabad pays Rs 40,700, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa pay Rs 40,000, and Balochistan pays Rs 37,000.
There is no single national rate, because labour is a provincial subject and each province fixes its own rate by notification, on its own timetable.
The binding number for any worker is the notification of the province where they work, not the figure announced in the federal budget.
Here are the 2026 rates for every province and territory, the daily and hourly equivalents, the Sindh skill categories, how the rates changed since 2025, who the minimum wage covers, what it means for EOBI, and what to do if an employer pays less.
Minimum wage in Pakistan at a glance#
| Province / Territory | Monthly minimum wage | Effective from | Notified |
| Sindh | Rs 43,000 | 1 July 2026 | 17 August 2026 |
| Islamabad (ICT) | Rs 40,700 | 1 July 2026 | 19 August 2026 |
| Punjab | Rs 40,000 | 1 July 2025 | 9 September 2025 |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Rs 40,000 | 1 July 2025 | September 2025 |
| Balochistan | Rs 37,000 | Last notified rate | No 2026-27 notification found |
Minimum wage in Pakistan 2026 by province#
The minimum wage in Pakistan 2026 differs by province because each province has its own Minimum Wage Board and its own notification.
The federal budget figure is only a signal: it binds Islamabad once notified, and federal civil employees through a separate Finance Division order, but it does not set the provincial rates.
| Province / Territory | Monthly rate | Change vs previous | Notification |
| Sindh | Rs 43,000 | +7.5% from Rs 40,000 | 17 August 2026; Cabinet approved 5 August 2026 |
| Islamabad (ICT) | Rs 40,700 | +10% from Rs 37,000 | 19 August 2026, No. ADLW 8(20)-ICT/2024-934 |
| Punjab | Rs 40,000 | +8.1% from Rs 37,000 | 9 September 2025; no 2026-27 rate yet |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Rs 40,000 | +11.1% from Rs 36,000 | September 2025; Rs 45,000 announced, not notified |
| Balochistan | Rs 37,000 | No change notified for 2026-27 | Notification number and date not published |
Notifications are often late and backdated. Sindh’s 2026 notification came on 17 August but applies from 1 July 2026. Punjab’s 2025 notification came on 9 September 2025 but applies from 1 July 2025.
KP’s 2025 notification came in September 2025 but applies from 1 July 2025. If a province notifies a higher rate later in the year, workers may be owed arrears for the months in between, so pay slips should be kept.
A further gazette posting on 12 October 2026 confirmed Sindh’s 1 July 2026 rates; it is a confirmation of the schedule, not a new increase.
Daily and hourly minimum wage in Pakistan#
The daily and hourly minimum wage in Pakistan is calculated from the monthly rate on 26 working days and an 8-hour day: daily rate is the monthly rate divided by 26, and the hourly rate is the daily rate divided by 8.
| Province / Territory | Monthly | Daily (26 days) | Hourly (8 hours) |
| Sindh | Rs 43,000 | Rs 1,654 | Rs 207 |
| Islamabad (ICT) | Rs 40,700 | Rs 1,565 | Rs 196 |
| Punjab | Rs 40,000 | Rs 1,538 | Rs 192 |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Rs 40,000 | Rs 1,538 | Rs 192 |
| Balochistan | Rs 37,000 | Rs 1,423 | Rs 178 |
Sindh’s Rs 1,654 a day and Rs 207 an hour are the notified figures. The other daily and hourly figures are computed from the monthly rate (monthly divided by 26, then by 8) and rounded to the nearest rupee.
A daily rate below the monthly rate divided by 26 working days, or an hourly rate below the daily rate divided by 8, is below the minimum wage.
The minimum wage is only the floor: on top of it the law adds overtime at double pay for hours beyond the legal limit, benefits and end-of-service dues.
Sindh minimum wage by skill category#
Sindh notifies separate minimum wage floors for four skill categories from 1 July 2026. Punjab sets a single floor for all adult workers rather than separate categories.
| Worker category | Sindh monthly minimum (from 1 July 2026) |
| Unskilled | Rs 43,000 |
| Semi-skilled | Rs 44,484 |
| Skilled | Rs 53,350 |
| Highly skilled | Rs 55,626 |
The Sindh notification covers unskilled adult and juvenile workers in industrial and commercial establishments across the province, and applies uniformly to all registered and unregistered industrial and commercial establishments in Sindh.
How the minimum wage changed since 2025#
The minimum wage rose in every province between 2024 and 2026, but on different dates and by different amounts, which is why the rates are now so far apart.
| Province / Territory | 2024-25 rate | 2025-26 rate (from 1 July 2025) | 2026-27 rate (from 1 July 2026) |
| Sindh | Rs 37,000 | Rs 40,000 | Rs 43,000 |
| Islamabad (ICT) | Rs 37,000 | Rs 37,000 (unchanged) | Rs 40,700 |
| Punjab | Rs 37,000 | Rs 40,000 | Rs 40,000 (no new notification) |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Rs 36,000 | Rs 40,000 | Rs 40,000 (Rs 45,000 announced, not notified) |
| Balochistan | Rs 36,000 | Rs 37,000 | Rs 37,000 (no new notification) |
No notification confirms Balochistan’s 2024-25 figure of Rs 36,000.
The year of Balochistan’s Rs 37,000 notification is not published.
A news report dated 6 November 2026 says the Balochistan government has started implementing the Rs 37,000 wage.
KP Rs 45,000: announced, not notified#
KP’s Rs 45,000 minimum wage was announced, not notified. Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced a Rs 5,000 rise, from Rs 40,000 to Rs 45,000, in the 2026-27 budget speech on 19 June 2026.
As of 12 October 2026 no labour department notification for Rs 45,000 could be found on an official page, and a union report dated 11 September 2026 said the announced increase had not been practically implemented in autonomous and attached bodies.
A budget announcement is not a legal rate until it is notified in the official gazette. Until a notification appears, Rs 40,000 is the last confirmed KP rate.
The same caution applies to the federal figure. The federal budget presented on 12 June 2026 announced Rs 40,700 for 2026-27, a 10% rise from Rs 37,000.
That figure binds Islamabad once notified.
Federal civil employees get it through a separate Finance Division order (Office Memorandum dated 21 August 2026, No. 1(2)R5/2022-PT-0001).
That order raises the minimum salary of federal civil employees from Rs 37,000 to Rs 40,700 from 1 July 2026, paid as a Special Allowance on top of normal pay.
The Finance Division order is a different instrument from the Islamabad minimum wage notification, though both are Rs 40,700 from 1 July 2026. Our salary increase 2026-27 guide explains the federal pay rise for government employees in full.
Who the minimum wage covers in Pakistan#
The minimum wage covers private-sector workers in industrial and commercial establishments, and it applies to permanent, daily-wage and contract workers alike.
It also applies to juveniles and adolescents: KP’s 2025 notification expressly covers adult, unskilled, juvenile and adolescent workers, and Sindh’s 2026 notification covers unskilled adult and juvenile workers.
- Covered: any person employed in an industry to do skilled or unskilled, intellectual, technical, clerical, manual or other work for hire or reward, including apprentices and domestic workers, under section 2(9) of the Minimum Wages Ordinance 1961.
- Government employees: not covered. Persons employed by the Federal Government or a Provincial Government are excluded from the Ordinance; their pay is fixed by the BPS scales instead.
- Coal miners: not covered by the Ordinance. They are covered by the Coal Mines (Fixation of Rates of Wages) Ordinance 1960.
- Agricultural workers: not covered by the Ordinance.
- Women and juveniles: there is no separate minimum wage for women or juveniles. The notified rates are the same for adult and juvenile workers where stated.
The foundational statute is the Minimum Wages Ordinance 1961 (Ordinance No. XXXIX of 1961, 29 September 1961), read with the West Pakistan Minimum Wages Rules 1962.
After devolution the provinces enacted their own laws alongside it: the Sindh Minimum Wages Act 2015, the Punjab Minimum Wages Act 2019, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minimum Wages Act 2013, and the Balochistan Minimum Wages Act 2021.
The Punjab Labour Code 2026 (Act IX of 2026, assented 10 February 2026, reported in force late May 2026) repealed the earlier Punjab minimum wages law.
Its transition provisions keep existing notifications in force until replaced, and the Code requires basic wages to be no lower than the minimum wage.
Under the Code a monthly wage must be paid before the seventh day of the next month, by bank transfer, with an itemised pay slip.
What counts as wages#
The minimum wage is the cash wage floor, before EOBI and other contributions. What counts as wages is all remuneration payable under the employment contract.
What is not counted as wages for the minimum wage calculation is: employer contributions to social insurance, pension or provident funds; travelling allowance or concessions; amounts to defray special expenses; annual bonus; and gratuity on termination.
An employer cannot count its EOBI contribution or a travel allowance towards the minimum wage: the cash wage itself must reach the notified rate.
Minimum wage and EOBI contributions in Pakistan#
EOBI contributions are calculated on the minimum wage: employer 5% plus employee 1%, for establishments with 5 or more employees, registered free on the FS2E portal, due by the 15th of the month.
EOBI Circular 01/2026-27 sets the contribution base at Rs 40,700: employer Rs 2,035 plus employee Rs 407, a total of Rs 2,442 per month. That is the figure our EOBI pension guide used, and it is still the 2026 figure.
| Province / Territory | Minimum wage | Employer 5% | Employee 1% | Total EOBI |
| Sindh | Rs 43,000 | Rs 2,150 | Rs 430 | Rs 2,580 |
| Islamabad (ICT) | Rs 40,700 | Rs 2,035 | Rs 407 | Rs 2,442 |
| Punjab | Rs 40,000 | Rs 2,000 | Rs 400 | Rs 2,400 |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Rs 40,000 | Rs 2,000 | Rs 400 | Rs 2,400 |
| Balochistan | Rs 37,000 | Rs 1,850 | Rs 370 | Rs 2,220 |
The figures in this table are worked examples computed from each province’s notified minimum wage at 5% plus 1%. The confirmed EOBI circular figure is the Rs 40,700 base.
A payroll compliance alert states that EOBI and the provincial social security institutions both compute contributions on the minimum wage of the province of employment.
The Sindh row is a worked example, not a settled EOBI figure, because EOBI has not stated whether it now uses Rs 43,000 as the base in Sindh.
Sindh’s provincial social security (SESSI) links contributions to the notified Sindh wage: a SESSI notification of August 2025, effective 1 July 2025, set the unskilled lower wage limit at Rs 40,000 with a contribution of Rs 2,400 at 6%.
Minimum wage and income tax#
No salary tax is due at the minimum wage. Even at Sindh’s Rs 43,000 a month the annual figure is Rs 516,000, below the Rs 600,000 exemption threshold, so no income tax applies. Tax only begins once annual pay crosses that line.
Our salary increase 2026-27 guide covers the 2026-27 tax slabs in detail.
What to do if your employer pays less than the minimum wage#
An employer who pays below the notified minimum wage breaks the law.
Section 9 of the Minimum Wages Ordinance 1961 prohibits paying wages below the declared minimum rate, and section 9(3) provides for a fine, up to six months imprisonment, or both, plus payment of the arrears owed to the worker.
A contract that pays below the minimum is void to that extent.
- Keep the paper trail: photograph pay slips, keep the appointment letter or contract, and keep a record of hours worked and any written messages about pay. If the employer refuses to give a pay slip, note that in the complaint; it is itself a compliance failure. Our salary slip guide explains what a pay slip should show.
- Raise it in writing with the employer: ask in writing for the notified rate and the arrears owed, and keep a copy of the request.
- Serve a grievance notice within 90 days: the grievance notice must go within 90 days of the grievance arising.
- Complain to the labour inspector: labour inspectors at the provincial Labour Department may visit workplaces, check wage records and receive worker complaints about non-compliance (Rules 21 to 23 of the 1962 Rules).
- File a claim before the Authority: under section 9-A the government appoints an Authority to hear and decide claims for non-payment or delayed payment of wages.
- Go to the Labour Court if it is unresolved: if the claim is not resolved, file a grievance petition in the Labour Court (or the National Industrial Relations Commission). Timing matters: under the Industrial Relations Act 2012 a grievance petition generally has to reach the forum within roughly two months and fifteen days after the grievance notice, or it can be time-barred.
Underpaying the base wage often signals other violations too: unpaid overtime, missing EOBI contributions, or no gratuity. The complaint should mention all of them if they apply.
Mistakes to avoid#
The most common mistakes with the minimum wage in Pakistan are about which number is binding, and which workers it covers.
- Treating the federal budget figure (Rs 40,700) as the rate for every province: the binding number is the provincial notification, and Punjab, KP and Balochistan are lower.
- Treating KP’s announced Rs 45,000 as the current legal rate: it was announced in the 19 June 2026 budget speech and no notification has been found, so Rs 40,000 is the last confirmed KP rate.
- Treating Sindh’s 12 October 2026 gazette posting as a new increase: it confirms the 1 July 2026 rates; it does not raise them.
- Assuming a government job pays the minimum wage: government employees are excluded from the Ordinance; their pay is fixed by the BPS scales.
- Accepting a daily rate below the monthly rate divided by 26 working days: the daily rate is the monthly rate divided by 26, and the hourly rate is the daily rate divided by 8.
- Waiting too long to complain: the grievance notice must go within 90 days, and the petition within roughly two months and fifteen days after the notice.
- Throwing away pay slips: arrears claims depend on them, and a province that notifies late usually backdates the new rate to 1 July.
FAQ#
What is the minimum wage in Punjab?
Rs 40,000 per month for an unskilled adult worker, effective 1 July 2025, notified 9 September 2025. That is about Rs 1,538 per day and Rs 192 per hour on 26 working days.
No 2026-27 rate has been notified yet, so Rs 40,000 remains the current Punjab rate.
Can an employer pay less than the minimum wage?
No. Section 9 of the Minimum Wages Ordinance 1961 prohibits paying below the declared minimum rate. An employer who does can face a fine, up to six months imprisonment, or both, plus payment of the arrears owed.
The worker can complain to the labour inspector, claim before the section 9-A Authority, or approach the Labour Court. A contract that pays below the minimum is void to that extent.
What is the minimum wage in Pakistan for 2026?
There is no single national rate. For an unskilled adult worker it is Rs 43,000 per month in Sindh and Rs 40,700 in Islamabad from 1 July 2026.
Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remain at Rs 40,000 until they notify a new rate, and Balochistan’s last notified rate is Rs 37,000. Each province fixes its own rate by notification.
What is the minimum wage in Sindh for skilled workers?
Sindh notifies four categories from 1 July 2026: unskilled Rs 43,000, semi-skilled Rs 44,484, skilled Rs 53,350 and highly skilled Rs 55,626 per month. Punjab sets a single floor for all adult workers rather than separate categories.
Does the minimum wage apply to daily-wage and contract workers?
Yes. The floor applies to unskilled adult workers whether they are permanent, daily-wage or on contract. It is calculated on 26 working days. Government employees, coal miners and agricultural workers are excluded under the Ordinance.
How much is the minimum wage per day in Pakistan?
It depends on the province. On 26 working days the daily rate is Rs 1,654 in Sindh, Rs 1,565 in Islamabad, Rs 1,538 in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Rs 1,423 in Balochistan.
The hourly rate is the daily rate divided by 8: Rs 207 in Sindh, Rs 196 in Islamabad, Rs 192 in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Rs 178 in Balochistan.
