Kenyan workers on Sunday rekindled their calls for a 22% pay increase, asking President Uhuru Kenyatta to make the announcement during the Labour Day celebrations.
Francis Atwoli, the secretary-general of the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu), said that the President should also review the minimum wage currently set for workers.
“Inflation has been rising throughout this year,” said Atwoli in a statement at St Stephen’s Cathedral, Nairobi.
“KSh10,000 [$96] is not enough minimum pay for anyone. We have asked for a 22% increase. Period.”
Earlier this month, President Kenyatta promised to push for salary increments for private sector workers.
“For the past two years, we have not increased salaries for private sector workers,” President Kenyatta said when he toured the United Aryan Company, a garment factory in the Baba Dogo Export Processing Zone in Nairobi.
“We are now saying, come Labour Day, we will impress on your employers to give you a salary increment.”
The President skipped last year’s Labour Day celebrations, having announced a 12% minimum wage raise for workers in 2015.
