No pay hike as Ruto directs 2024 minimum wage be implemented

President William Ruto (2nd left) interacts with COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli during the 60th Labour Day Celebrations at Uhuru Gardens, Nairobi on May 1, 2025. [Boniface Okendo, Standard] No pay increase was offered in this year's Labour Day celebrations as President William Ruto directed the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection to ensure the six per cent salary increment pronounced last year is implemented. The President also directed Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua to facilitate employees on contract to join unions, citing it as a constitutional right as the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) claimed workers are being exploited by employers. Union membership in the labour market has always been associated with permanent and pensionable workers. President Ruto, who was the guest of honour in the celebrations held at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi yesterday, also used the platform to underscore what he termed as milestones his administration has made in sectors such as health, agriculture, affordable housing and job creation. A lower inflation, improved coffee prices, increased maize harvest, a stable shilling, augmented savings, and a forex reserve that has improved are some of the milestones that he associated with his administration. He pronounced himself as well on a request put across by Cotu Secretary General Francis Atwoli to allow Kenyans to own houses under the affordable housing programme using their pay slips. Ownership at the moment requires one to put down a 10 per cent deposit. "That is a wise suggestion as long as we are discussing how we are going to occupy the houses, whether by deposits or pay slips," Ruto said. In the event attended by dignitaries and government officials, among them the Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, the President did not offer Kenyan workers a pay rise. He instead revisited the six per cent minimum wage increase pronounced during last year's celebrations, seeking its implementation as some employers are yet to. "It is not right, it is unacceptable. I am directing the ministry to work with the Head of Public Service to ensure employers implement the six per cent increase and to quickly embark on the exercise to put together the next agreement." Earlier, Atwoli had lamented about the issue, citing frustrations from the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE). Atwoli further dismissed claims by FKE on retrenchment accusing employers of declaring redundancies only to outsource cheap labour. He said these workers have no binding agreements and do not contribute to the country's revenue as they do not pay the statutory deductions such as Social Health Insurance Fund (Shif), Affordable Housing Levy and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). "What is eating our jobs are free riders. People are employed through the back door, outsourced at a lower rate. They do not pay taxes, and have no binding agreement. They are slaves in our industries," he said. While imploring the President for a salary increment citing increased cost of living, the Cotu boss also suggested that the said statutory deductions should be levied on basic pay and not gross income to improve the take home of workers that has shrunk since the onset of new and enhanced taxes. President William Ruto (2nd left) interacts with COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli during the 60th Labour Day Celebrations at Uhuru Gardens, Nairobi on May 1, 2025. [Boniface Okendo, Standard] President Ruto however noted that in the Finance Bill 2025, the government has opted to have employers adjust the eligible tax relief and exemptions directly from employees, removing the burden of workers claiming the same from the taxman. "This will increase efficiency and immediately benefit employees," said the President. The theme of this year's celebration, self-reliance in production is the key to economic growth, was selected to align with Kenya Kwanza's Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (Beta). The celebrations also coincide with Cotu's 60th anniversary. President Ruto said his administration is keen on solving unemployment through overseas jobs. However, neither the President nor the Labour CS did not address recent complaints from job seekers that they were duped when applying for jobs abroad through a government-sanctioned process. Instead, they amplified the plan to have more Kenyans shipped abroad for work, citing that in 2024, some 200,000 job seekers found opportunities across the ocean. "This year, we are strengthening our efforts through targeted recruitment and bilateral labour agreements," said Ruto. Referencing the government's plan on overseas jobs, Dr Mutua lamented how cartels have dominated the space but promised efforts by the government to weed them out. Mutua said the government continues to put in place safe, orderly labour migration and mobility. "We have started dismantling cartels who had controlled this space for years, and we will continue to do so despite their theatrics," said the CS. Mudavadi, who is also in charge of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, referenced data from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank that positions Kenya as the sixth-largest economy on the continent. "This is a big achievement. We recognise that Kenya would not have attained that without the sweat of the workers of Kenya," he said.

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