Inflation hands workers worst pay-cut in 10 years

Jua kali artisan at Kibuye market in Kisumu. [Collins Oduor, Standard]

The sustained rise in the prices of goods and services has handed workers the second straight cut in the purchasing power, with last year being the worst in a decade.

Government data released yesterday showed real wages— a measure of income after accounting for the cost of goods and services people buy—shrank by 3.83 per cent to add to the 1.4 per cent decline the previous year to hand pay cuts to workers.