Sakaja warns firms with low pay for workers
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has put the private sector on the spot for not implementing the president’s directive on salary increments.
According to Mr Sakaja, most private sectors ignore the president’s directive on the minimum wage bill.
Addressing on Monday at Uhuru Gardens, during the 2023 Labour Day celebration the city governor called on the sector to mind about their worker’s welfare.
Mr Sakaja stated that they should comply with the head of state’s directive, since the cost of living in the country soars by day.
“Public sector salary increment announcement is efficiently effected, but private sector remains the same.
“The cost of living is rising by day. Employers should reconsider their policies,” said the governor.
Sakaja however gave an example of private security agencies, some workers earning as low as Sh3, 000 per month.
“You imagine someone earning Sh3, 000 or Sh5, 000 per month in Nairobi?” the governor wondered.
In Nairobi alone, Sakaja said there are thousands of private security workers whose life is miserable because of poor remuneration.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta, in 2022 during Labour Day commemorations announced a 12 percent salary increment in the minimum wage in the country effective May 1 same year.
President Kenyatta expressed optimism about the Kenyan workforce, terming it as one of the best in Africa and the world.
“I declare an increase of minimum wage by 12 percent with effect from May 1, 2022. I call on the private sector, please let us work in the same spirit, let us all make the adjustments that will sustain the wellness of our labour force, let us sacrifice a portion of our profit,” he said.
“The World Bank has indicated that Kenya will have the best productive workforce by 2036 if we continue with the same trajectory.”
When the current president Dr William Ruto was sworn in 2022, his deputy Rigathi Gachagua stated that the Kenya Kwanza regime inherited a dilapidated economy.
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