Government announces increased pay for Kenyan workers

President Uhuru Kenyatta, through Labour CS Ukur Yattani, has announced a five percent increase on the minimum wage in Kenya.

Yattani made the announcement at Uhuru Park where he read the President's speech while attending the Labour Day celebrations which are meant to show solidarity with workers around the world.

In the speech read on behalf of the head of state, Yattani added that the increase was would take effect with immediate.

Kenyan employers had earlier warned against another Labour Day minimum wage increase, arguing that such a move would hurt an economy that is just beginning to recover from last year’s battering.

Last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed that the minimum wage for Kenyan workers be raised by 18 per cent after a two-year freeze.

The Kenya Association of Manufacturers had argued that instead of increasing wages, the government should opt for an increase in the minimum taxable pay and continued exemption of overtime and bonuses paid to low income earners.