Find middle ground on issue of minimum wage

With the rising cost of living the thorny matter of minimum wages is brewing, with Labour Minister John Munyes having already proposed a 10 per cent increase in the same.

He has the support of trade unions in this matter and the moral justification prompted by the high cost food and services, prompted by high fuel prices and the weakening shilling.

Wages have been squeezed and the Government has a duty to cushion them. Minimum wages cannot keep people out of the poverty trap.

Any proposed increase takes cognizance of the fact that it also needs to provide an environment that ensures those who have jobs retain them, and those without can still hope to get employment. It is not long since the last increase in the minimum wage for general workers in the non-agricultural sector to Sh7,000, but the landscape has changed a lot since then. This may come as a shock to the Government and trade unions, but the truth is that very few employers can actually afford to pay their general workers even the basic minimum wage.

This speaks volumes about the disconnect between Government policy and reality.

Fuel-induced inflation is cyclical and things could change in as short a time as one month if the global prices of oil drop further. What the trade unions and the Government should opt for is to find a middle ground with employers on this matter.

The general feeling among the latter is that a 10 per cent increase in the general minimum wage is too much to swallow at a time when profits are being squeezed by inflation.

Threatening to close down companies sends the wrong message to investors.