Kenya pegs minimum wage at $130, Nigeria's stays at $72

Kenyan-President-Uhuru-Kenyatta

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Sunday his government would hike the country’s minimum wage by 12% immediately to help workers 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.

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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. read more

Inflation in the country rose to 6.47% year-on-year last month from 5.56% in March, the statistics office said.

Last month the country suffered shortages of fuel, with traffic in some parts of Nairobi coming to a standstill as motorists joined long queues outside petrol stations

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