The governments of Morocco and Kenya have concluded plans to increase their minimum wage to reflect present realities particularly inflation and weak purchasing power.
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta while speaking at Labour Day celebrations in Nairobi on Sunday disclosed that a rise of 12% was necessary to help workers cope with a surge in consumer prices, which has been partly driven by the war in Ukraine.
Africa Today News, New York reports that Kenyans have seen commodities, including cooking oil and fuel, go up in price, exacerbated by supply chain disruptions following the Russian invasion.
Meanwhile, in Morocco, the government announced plans to increase the minimum wage for public servants by 16%. For other workers, the increase will be 10%.
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Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta revealed that his government would hike the country’s minimum wage by 12% immediately to cushion the effects on workers and help them cope with a surge in consumer prices, driven in part by the war in Ukraine.
Kenya’s current minimum wage is 13,500 Kenyan shillings ($116.68) per month. By increasing it by 12 percent, it will rise to $130 a month.
Africa’s biggest economy, Nigeria fixes minimum wage at N30,000, which equals $72 a month, at official exchange rate.
‘There is a compelling case to review the minimum wage so as to cushion our workers against further erosion of their purchasing power,’ President Kenyatta said in a statement issued by his office to mark Labour Day celebrations in the capital Nairobi.
The hike, he said, was necessary because the minimum wage had not been reviewed in three years and the cost of living has increased.
As in in other countries across the region, Kenyans are grappling with a surge in prices of commodities, including cooking oil and fuel, aggravated by supply concerns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began on Feb. 24.
Africa Today News, New York