Employers stoke debate on minimum wage hike

 

Employers have reiterated their opposition to the State's recent move to hike the minimum wage, which they termed ill-advised.

Under the aegis of the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), they instead called for job creation and the reduction of food prices to cushion workers against the high cost of living.

Speaking during the lobby’s 58th annual general meeting in Nairobi Thursday, National President Mark Joseph Obuya and Chief Executive Jacqueline Mugo said the move by President Uhuru Kenyatta to increase the minimum wage by 18 per cent as expressed in his Labour Day speech would have far-reaching effects on employer-employee relations.

“That the prices of basic food items like unga, milk and bread have risen sharply since January 2017 is not in doubt and it is undeniable that we need to find lasting ways of alleviating the suffering of many Kenyans,” said Mr Obuya.

Political move

“Finding viable solutions requires a delicate balancing act without resorting to the easier option of shifting the burden to the seemingly stronger person between the two - the employers.”

Commentators and critics of the Jubilee administration have termed the minimum wage upward review a political move, coming in an election year.

The minimum wage increase means the lowest Kenyan worker in an urban centre will now earn Sh16,039 on average, up from Sh13,593, which was last adjusted two years ago.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, inflation increased from 10.28 per cent in March to 11.48 per cent in April, occasioned by a spike in the prices of basic food commodities such as maize flour, milk and sugar.

Milk is retailing at Sh70 per half-litre packet while a 2kg packet of unga costs Sh125, a slight drop after tax was scrapped.

The lobby said there was need for long-term solutions to the food situation through a multi-sectoral approach. 

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