We need better monitoring of minimum wage benefits :: Mmegi Online

Members of Parliament this week called on the government to review the minimum wage, an exercise, which was done less than 12 months ago. The legislators argued that the cost of living is constantly rising and there is need for wage adjustment.

What we have noticed is that even after reviews, there is poor monitoring to ensure that the minimum wage is paid. This means that a significant number of the targeted workers may not benefit. The reviews therefore mean little to the intended beneficiaries, especially in the private sector. Some of them quit their jobs to join the better paying government labour-based poverty alleviation programmes.

MPs have accused some companies of violating the Employment Act by making their employees to work long hours and paying low wages. These are the issues that the government should address before venturing into poverty eradication shows, which create a dependence mentality on government handouts.

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