The Federation of Kenyan Employers (FKE) has sounded an early alert to employees hoping for a pay increase ahead of this year’s Labour Day that they will most likely be disappointed as none would be forthcoming.
This declaration by FKE yesterday, two weeks prior to Labour Day that its members would not implement any changes to wages as directed by the government, seems well timed to counter any directives that may come from the executive, a trend employers note has been in motion since 2010.
“Employers, therefore, do not expect and will not support any announcement on wages this year,” said FKE national chairman Erastus Mwongera. The employers also pointed out that the minimum wage in Kenya; raised from Ksh 11,995 last year to Ksh 13,674, is already the highest in the East African region.
And this move by FKE also appears to be in defiance to calls by the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) that has urged the government to up the wages by 20 percent this year. Moreover, according to FKE’s executive director Jacqueline Mugo, employers are already burdened by the wage bill and high cost of production.
When contacted by The Nation, COTU secretary-general Francis Atwoli dismissed the assertions by FKE as ‘slavery mentality’. “FKE should not support indirect slavery because paying somebody a wage that he cannot live on is indirect slavery, leave alone exploitation,” added Mr. Atwoli.
Last year, President Kenyatta instructed a 14 percent wage increase which employers opposed, arguing that the country’s 4.6 percent Growth Domestic Product growth rate cannot support such a pay increase.
Source: Daily Nation
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