Budget 2025 - 26 with a labour force lens

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Budget 2025 - 26 with a labour force lens

Concept Note
SDPI Monday Seminar
Title: Budget 2025–26 with a Labour Force Lens
Date/Time: 23 June 2025, 02:30 PM to 04:30 PM
Venue: Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) Conference Hall

Background and Context
The Federal Budget 2025–26 and a couple of provincial budgets while focusing on fiscal consolidation and renewed commitments to macroeconomic stability neglected the labour force which is otherwise a backbone of economy. They did not announce even minimum wages, leaving aside the living wages for the labour. Those who work in the informal economy were not even counted.
Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have increased minimum wages to a smaller extent to provide some relief to workers amidst rising inflation, the federal government, and two other provinces did not propose even a symbolic increase in minimum wages making it difficult for the labour, already vulnerable to the cost-of-living surge, to absorb economic shocks. This seminar seeks to view the budget through an objective labour policy lens, identifying areas where the government and stakeholders can work together to strengthen protections for workers and to enhance their inclusion in the economic framework.

Objectives of the Seminar
The seminar aims to generate a forward-looking conversation around the state of labour, their inclusion in the budget, and pathways to improve social protection.

Key objectives include:
• Reviewing the 2025–26 Federal Budget’s implications for workers, especially daily wagers, informal labour, and salaried low-income groups.
• Exploring comparative provincial actions catering to the needs of the labour force and opportunity.
• Identifying practical policy tools for job creation, wage fairness, and safety nets.
• Engaging labour unions, civil society, and government representatives in a shared dialogue on inclusive economic policymaking.