This year’s Labour Day theme is Eradicate Corruption to Create Employment.
NAIROBI, Kenya May 1 – Labour Day celebrations were underway at Nairobi’s Uhuru Park Wednesday, with imminent calls for a wage increment for workers.
Secretary General for the Central Organisation for Trade Unions (COTU) Francis Atwoli has been pushing for a 15 per cent minimum wage increment, which is opposed by the Federation of Kenyan Employers (FKE) over the ballooning wage bill concerns in the country.
“That will be the highlight of COTU Secretary General’s remarks,” an official at the organization hinted.
President Uhuru Kenyatta was listed as guest speaker at the annual ceremony.
The pressure is on President Uhuru Kenyatta who is expected to balance the act and also address some of the pertinent issues the country is facing, among them graft blamed for massive loss of public money and unemployment.
This year’s Labour Day theme is Eradicate Corruption to Create Employment.
“The Government must fight corruption. You cannot feel the economic growth because of corruption,” Atwoli said ahead of the celebrations.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), 7 million Kenyans are not employed- some 1.4 million are desperately looking for a job, while the rest have since thrown in the towel.
Kenyans living below Sh200 a day is currently at 36.1 percent according to the KNBS.
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