On 1st May, the Labour Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani announced a five percent increment in the minimum wage for workers. He made this announcement while addressing the gathering at Uhuru Park during the Labour Day celebrations.
Coming at a time when life is becoming hard for ordinary Kenyans owing to inflation, this announcement though a drop in the ocean, came as good news to many workers. Better half a loaf than none, many argue.
Export Processing Zone (EPZ) workers might be looking at an uncertain future as far as their salary increments are concerned.
Companies within the zone are in talks with the government to allow them not to increase their employees' salaries.
They have requested the Labor CS to exempt them from complying with the five percent minimum wage increment stating it will make production difficult for them.
The labour CS promised to engage in talks with them to see if they can arrive at a fair compromise. If the government will grant their request, then it will mean that the employees of EPZ will miss out on the five per cent increment. While other workers from other companies will enjoy salary increment, however small, employees of EPZ will have to continue getting their current salaries.
It will mean that some of them might opt to resign and join other companies which are complying with the five percent minimum wage increment.
It will also mean that their productivity will go down. This is because of lack of morale given the fact that other workers are enjoying an increment while they are in a state of “arrested development.”