Lowest paid workers in private sector get 13pc raise

The lowest paid workers in major towns will start earning Sh8,579 monthly after the State proposed a Sh13.1 per cent increase in the minimum wage during Tuesday’s Labour Day celebrations.

President Kibaki proposed the pay raise in a statement read on his behalf, seen as a means of enabling the lowest paid workers cope with high commodity prices as inflation remains in the double digits.

But unlike in the past where the President’s proposals would be a directive to all employers, Civil Servants may have to wait a little longer since it is only the Salaries and Remunerations Commission that has the mandate to tell the government what to pay.

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Beatrice Kituyi, the permanent secretary at the Labour Ministry, said that the pay raise was only a proposal that acts as basis for computing the minimum wage but salary scales for government workers will only be developed by the Remunerations Commission.

“The President meant that the salaries and remuneration commission will advise on the minimum wage increment, but that’s only for public officials,” said Mrs Kituyi.

Salaries for workers in the private sector are mostly determined through the collective bargaining agreements entered into with their employers, with the statutory minimum wage acting as a guide.

The proposed pay raise means that labourers who do not possess any professional skills will earn a basic salary of Sh7,915 in municipalities and Sh4,576 in all other towns.

Ministry of Labour categorises labourers as the lowest job group.

Last year, the government raised the minimum wage by 12.5 per cent, giving the lowest paid workers a total of 27 per cent rise over two years.

Employers in the private sector said executing the wage increment means an extra cost for them which will have to be borne by consumers through higher commodity prices.

Jacqueline Mugo, the executive director of the Federation of Kenyan Employers, said companies would pass the extra employee costs to the consumers.
“It means more operating costs but as employers we will have to find a way to absorb these costs; eventually it has to be passed onto consumers,” said Mrs Mugo.