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Labour wage and overtime calculator
The minimum wage for 2026-27 is Rs 43,000 a month in Sindh, from 1 July 2026, and still Rs 40,000 in Punjab. Work out a site gang's pay with overtime, advances and deductions, and check it against the minimum wage in each province and Islamabad.
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Calculator
Work out the wages
Choose the province for the minimum wage, then add each worker's wage, days worked, overtime and advances. Every worker's pay and the gang's total follow as you type.
Pay for the period
- Wages
- Rs 235,000For 124 days worked
- Overtime
- Rs 13,80026 hours at 2 × the hourly rate
- Deductions
- Rs 8,000Advances and others
- Minimum wage
- 1 belowPunjab: Rs 40,000 a month, Rs 1,538 a day
Pay by worker
- 1. Mason26 days at Rs 2,500, 10 hours overtime, less Rs 5,000
- Rs 66,250
- 2. Steel fixer24 days at Rs 2,200, 6 hours overtime
- Rs 56,100
- 3. Labourer26 days at Rs 1,700, 10 hours overtime, less Rs 3,000
- Rs 45,450
- 4. Labourer22 days at Rs 1,500, below the minimum wage
- Rs 33,000
- 5. ChowkidarRs 40,000 a month, 26 days of 26
- Rs 40,000
- Net pay
- Rs 240,800
Worker 4, labourer: Rs 1,500 a day is below the Punjab minimum of Rs 1,538 a day (Rs 40,000 a month over 26 days). For the 22 days worked that is Rs 836 short.
Minimum wages for unskilled workers as of September 2026, checked on each worker's rate: skilled workers may be owed more, and overtime counts on top. EOBI, social security and income tax are not worked out. Confirm the minimum wage with the provincial labour department.
Minimum wage
Minimum wage 2026-27 by province
For unskilled adult workers, on 8-hour days and a 26-day month. Each province notifies its own, on its own date.
| Province | A month | A day (26 days) | An hour (8 hours) | In force from | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punjab | Rs 40,000 | Rs 1,538.46 | Rs 192.31 | 1 July 2025 | Notified 8 September 2025. No rate for 2026-27 notified by 30 September 2026. |
| Sindh | Rs 43,000 | Rs 1,654 | Rs 207 | 1 July 2026 | Notified 17 August 2026. Higher rates for semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled workers. |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Rs 40,000 | Rs 1,538 | Rs 192.31 | 1 July 2025 | The latest rate found. No rate for 2026-27 found by 30 September 2026. |
| Balochistan | Rs 37,000 | Rs 1,423 | Rs 177.88 | 1 July 2024 | The latest rate found, not confirmed from the notification. Check it with the Labour Department. |
| Islamabad | Rs 40,700 | Rs 1,565 | Rs 195.67 | 1 July 2026 | A 10% rise on Rs 37,000, proposed in the federal budget speech of 12 June 2026. Notification not seen. |
Sindh also sets Rs 44,484 a month for semi-skilled workers, Rs 53,350 for skilled and Rs 55,626 for highly skilled, from 1 July 2026, in industries that include construction. Its list of which trades fall in each level was still to follow. Checked on 30 September 2026 against the notifications each labour department publishes; where a notification could not be found, that is said. Confirm the rate with the provincial labour department before relying on it.
Labour rates
Daily wages on building sites in Pakistan, August 2026
A mason (raj mistri) averaged Rs 2,011 a day and an unskilled labourer Rs 1,291 across the 35 cities surveyed in August 2026; a labourer's day ran from Rs 900 in Sukkur to Rs 1,747 in Lahore. Against the minimum wages above, the labourer's wage was below the province's minimum for a day in 29 of the 35 cities.
| City | Mason (raj mistri) | Unskilled labourer | Painter | Plumber | Electrician, per point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahore | Rs 2,461 | Rs 1,747 | Rs 2,227 | Rs 2,037 | Rs 319 |
| Karachi | Rs 2,482 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 1,912 | Rs 2,359 | Rs 418 |
| Islamabad | Rs 2,405 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 2,299 | Rs 2,238 | Rs 487 |
| Rawalpindi | Rs 2,364 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 2,248 | Rs 2,220 | Rs 471 |
| Faisalabad | Rs 1,993 | Rs 1,266 | Rs 1,651 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 266 |
| Multan | Rs 1,909 | Rs 1,153 | Rs 1,520 | Rs 1,811 | Rs 284 |
| Peshawar | Rs 2,421 | Rs 1,466 | Rs 2,065 | Rs 2,500 | Rs 332 |
| Quetta | Rs 2,194 | Rs 1,449 | Rs 1,793 | Rs 1,498 | Rs 317 |
| Hyderabad | Rs 1,974 | Rs 1,057 | Rs 1,722 | Rs 2,073 | Rs 397 |
| Gujranwala | Rs 2,200 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 1,800 | Rs 1,800 | Rs 200 |
| Sialkot | Rs 2,000 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 1,800 | Rs 1,800 | Rs 230 |
| Sargodha | Rs 2,000 | Rs 1,400 | Rs 1,800 | Rs 2,400 | Rs 300 |
| Attock | Rs 2,233 | Rs 1,433 | Rs 2,033 | Rs 1,864 | Rs 387 |
| Sahiwal | Rs 2,000 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 250 |
| Jhang | Rs 2,100 | Rs 1,200 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 300 |
| Dera Ghazi Khan | Rs 2,200 | Rs 1,200 | Rs 2,000 | Rs 2,000 | Rs 200 |
| Vehari | Rs 1,800 | Rs 1,200 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 300 |
| Mianwali | Rs 2,000 | Rs 1,000 | Rs 1,931 | Rs 1,899 | Rs 400 |
| Bahawalpur | Rs 1,731 | Rs 1,129 | Rs 1,433 | Rs 1,466 | Rs 288 |
| Bahawalnagar | Rs 1,500 | Rs 1,000 | Rs 1,300 | Rs 1,000 | Rs 250 |
| Rahim Yar Khan | Rs 1,500 | Rs 1,000 | Rs 1,200 | Rs 1,533 | Rs 300 |
| Nawabshah | Rs 1,933 | Rs 1,032 | Rs 1,600 | Rs 1,783 | Rs 250 |
| Mirpur Khas | Rs 1,500 | Rs 1,000 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 2,000 | Rs 300 |
| Sukkur | Rs 1,600 | Rs 900 | Rs 1,600 | Rs 1,600 | Rs 300 |
| Larkana | Rs 2,000 | Rs 1,000 | Rs 1,631 | Rs 1,817 | Rs 266 |
| Dadu | Rs 2,000 | Rs 1,000 | Rs 1,200 | Rs 1,200 | Rs 200 |
| Abbottabad | Rs 2,131 | Rs 1,694 | Rs 2,000 | Rs 2,000 | Rs 332 |
| Bannu | Rs 2,131 | Rs 1,200 | Rs 1,864 | Rs 1,600 | Rs 170 |
| Dera Ismail Khan | Rs 1,629 | Rs 965 | Rs 1,466 | Rs 1,433 | Rs 186 |
| Mingora | Rs 2,000 | Rs 1,200 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 1,600 | Rs 300 |
| Turbat | Rs 2,000 | Rs 1,600 | Rs 2,000 | Rs 1,931 | Rs 373 |
| Gwadar | Rs 2,000 | Rs 1,600 | Rs 2,000 | Rs 2,000 | Rs 373 |
| Loralai | Rs 2,266 | Rs 1,666 | Rs 2,200 | Rs 1,931 | Rs 398 |
| Khuzdar | Rs 1,931 | Rs 1,232 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 1,500 | Rs 293 |
| Dera Murad Jamali | Rs 1,800 | Rs 1,400 | Not recorded | Rs 1,200 | Rs 300 |
| Average of the cities surveyed | Rs 2,011 | Rs 1,291 | Rs 1,744 | Rs 1,774 | Rs 307 |
Source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Urban Inter-City Consumer Prices of Construction and Energy Items, August 2026, published September 2026. These are the rates the survey found in each city; what a worker asks varies with the trade, the worker's skill and the job, so agree the rate before the work starts.
How it is worked out
From the dihari to the pay sheet
A daily-wage worker is paid the day's wage, the dihari, for each day worked. A monthly worker is paid the month's wage, on a month of 26 working days, less any days not worked. On the example, the mistri's Rs 2,500 a day for 26 days is Rs 65,000, and the chowkidar's Rs 40,000 a month for the full 26 days is Rs 40,000.
Overtime is paid by the hour. The ordinary hourly rate is a day's wage ÷ 8, or a month's ÷ 208 (26 days of 8 hours), and each hour of overtime is paid at a multiple of it: twice under the Factories Acts. The mistri's hourly rate is Rs 312.50, so his 10 hours of overtime come to 10 × 312.50 × 2 = Rs 6,250.
Advances (peshgi) and other deductions come off what the worker has earned: the mistri's Rs 71,250 less a Rs 5,000 advance leaves Rs 66,250 to pay. The whole gang of 5 earns Rs 248,800, Rs 13,800 of it overtime, and takes home Rs 240,800.
The minimum wage check compares each worker's rate, not the pay for the days worked: a monthly wage against the province's monthly minimum, and a daily wage against that minimum ÷ 26. In Punjab that is Rs 40,000 a month or Rs 1,538 a day, so the labourer on Rs 1,500 a day is paid below it, Rs 836 short over his 22 days. Overtime does not count towards the minimum: it is paid on top.
The rules
Minimum wage and overtime law
Each province fixes its own minimum wage under its own minimum wages law, usually from 1 July, and notifies it on its own date, so for part of each year some provinces are on the new year's rate and some are still on the last. The rates are for unskilled adult workers on an 8-hour day and a 26-day month, and Sindh's notification says in terms that its rate covers casual, daily-rated and contract workers as well as permanent staff. Skilled work is usually paid more, and Sindh sets higher minimums for semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled workers.
Overtime at twice the ordinary rate comes from the Factories Act 1934, section 47, and the provincial Acts that replaced it, such as Balochistan's Factories Act 2021, section 71, for work past 9 hours in a day or 48 in a week. Shops and commercial establishments have their own laws. A building site is neither a factory nor a shop, and how far these rules reach site labour is not settled, so the calculator opens on twice the rate and lets you set the multiple your site pays.
This is a way to check your sums, not legal advice. It does not work out EOBI or social security contributions, income tax on salaries, paid leave, weekly holidays, bonus or gratuity. Before relying on a figure, confirm the minimum wage with the provincial labour department, and ask a labour lawyer about anything in dispute. Minimum wages as checked on 30 September 2026; market wages from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, August 2026.
On site
Words you will hear
- Dihari
- A day's wage, paid for each day worked. Mazdoor ki dihari is a labourer's daily wage.
- Mistri
- A skilled tradesman on site, most often the mason, who leads the labourers working with him.
- Mazdoor
- A labourer who carries, mixes and helps the mistri. The minimum wage is set for unskilled work like this.
- Peshgi
- An advance on wages, taken off the worker's later pay.
- Thekedar
- A labour contractor who brings a gang to site and pays its wages.
- Point
- One light, fan or socket outlet an electrician wires. House wiring is often priced by the point rather than by the day.
- Overtime
- Hours worked past the normal working day, paid by the hour at a multiple of the ordinary rate.
- EOBI
- The Employees' Old-Age Benefits Institution, the federal pension scheme employers and workers pay into each month. It is not worked out here.
Questions
Labour wages questions
Still have a question?
Ask our team during Pakistan business hours, in English or Urdu.
+92 333 2466662Chat on WhatsAppWhat is the minimum wage in Punjab in 2026-27?
Rs 40,000 a month for an unskilled worker, or Rs 1,538.46 a day and Rs 192.31 an hour, on 26 working days of 8 hours. Punjab notified that rate on 8 September 2025 with effect from 1 July 2025, and had not notified a rate for 2026-27 by 30 September 2026, so it still applies. A worker on a dihari below Rs 1,538 is paid below it.
What is the minimum wage in Sindh in 2026-27?
Rs 43,000 a month, Rs 1,654 a day or Rs 207 an hour for unskilled workers, from 1 July 2026, notified on 17 August 2026. It covers casual, daily-rated and contract workers too. Sindh also set Rs 44,484 for semi-skilled, Rs 53,350 for skilled and Rs 55,626 for highly skilled workers in industries that include construction, with its list of which trades fall in each level still to follow.
What is the minimum wage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan?
The latest rates found by 30 September 2026 are Rs 40,000 a month in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, from 1 July 2025, and Rs 37,000 in Balochistan, from 1 July 2024. Neither province's notification for 2026-27 could be found, so confirm the rate with its Labour Department before relying on it. The calculator lets you type the rate in.
What is the minimum wage in Islamabad in 2026-27?
Rs 40,700 a month, about Rs 1,565 a day: the federal budget speech of 12 June 2026 proposed raising the minimum wage by 10%, from Rs 37,000. The notification itself was not found, so confirm the rate with the Islamabad Capital Territory labour office.
What is a mason's (mistri) daily wage in Pakistan?
Rs 2,011 a day on average across the 35 cities the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics surveyed in August 2026: Rs 2,461 in Lahore, Rs 2,482 in Karachi and Rs 2,405 in Islamabad, from Rs 1,500 in Bahawalnagar, Rahim Yar Khan and Mirpur Khas to Rs 2,482 in Karachi. Over a 26-day month the average comes to Rs 52,286, above the highest minimum wage for unskilled work, Sindh's Rs 43,000. Punjab's rates for estimating government works, July to December 2026, set a mason's day at Rs 2,000 in Lahore. A mistri's rate depends on the city, his skill and the work, so agree it before he starts.
What is the daily wage of a labourer in Pakistan?
Rs 1,291 a day on average for an unskilled labourer (mazdoor) across the 35 cities surveyed in August 2026: Rs 1,747 in Lahore, Rs 1,500 in Karachi and Rs 1,500 in Islamabad, from Rs 900 in Sukkur to Rs 1,747 in Lahore. That average is below the minimum wage for a day in each province and Islamabad, Rs 1,423 to Rs 1,654, and the survey's wage was below its province's daily minimum in 29 of the 35 cities. A labourer employed by a contractor or a firm is owed at least the minimum, so check each dihari against it in the calculator.
How is overtime calculated for labour?
Take the hourly rate, a day's wage ÷ 8 or a month's ÷ 208, and pay each extra hour at twice that, the Factories Acts' rule for work past 9 hours a day or 48 a week. A mistri on Rs 2,500 a day earns Rs 312.50 an hour, so 10 hours of overtime pay Rs 6,250. Building sites are not factories and many pay overtime at the ordinary rate, so set the multiple to what your site pays.
How do I work out a daily wage (dihari) from a monthly salary?
Divide by 26, the working days in a month: Rs 40,000 a month is Rs 1,538 a day, and Rs 192.31 an hour on an 8-hour day. The other way round, a dihari of Rs 1,700 comes to Rs 44,200 for 26 days, and a Lahore mason's average of Rs 2,461 a day in August 2026 comes to Rs 63,986.
Does the minimum wage apply to construction workers?
Yes, to workers employed by a contractor or a firm. Punjab's and Sindh's notifications cover workers in all industrial and commercial establishments, and Sindh's names casual, daily-rated and contract workers and the construction industry. It is a floor for normal hours, with overtime paid on top, and Sindh's notification says a worker on piece rates must still earn the equivalent of the minimum.
What does this calculator not cover?
EOBI and social security contributions, income tax on salaries, paid holidays and leave, bonus and gratuity, which depend on the worker's terms and the province's laws. It works out wages for the days and hours you give and checks each rate against the minimum wage as of September 2026; confirm anything that matters with the provincial labour department.
Keep attendance and wages straight
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