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Higher wages may kill fragile textile industry
Workers at Bedi Investments Ltd factory in Nakuru. The firm’s MD, Jaswinder Jas Bedi, says more than 800 workers face layoffs following a presidential directive increasing the minimum wage by 14 per cent on Labour Day. Photo/SULEIMAN MBATIAH
The decision by President Uhuru Kenyatta to increase the minimum wages on May 1 was unfortunate. It maintains an unnecessary tradition of ceremonial wage increases on Labour Day, which do not take cognisance of the entire production chain and implications for job expansion.
In addition, this Labour Day speech was at variance with a lot of promises to reduce production cost and increase productivity in an effort to create more jobs.
