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Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Kenya (RATIFICATION: 1979)

Article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Minimum wage system. The Committee understands that, as it currently operates, the minimum wage system comprises two tripartite bodies, i.e. the Agricultural Wages Advisory Board (AWAB) and the General Wages Advisory Board (GWAB), which set statutory minimum wage rates by age, occupation and geographical area. In addition, there are 17 Wage Councils established by the GWAB in order to determine minimum wages in different occupations but these councils have updated statutory wages only occasionally and as a result wage levels are often outdated. The Committee requests the Government to supply up to date information on the various minimum wage rates currently in force, as set by the AWAB, the GWAB and the trade-specific wages councils. It would appreciate receiving copies of the most recent wages orders applicable to the various categories of workers, copies of any surveys of national economic conditions which may have served for the purpose of adjusting minimum wages, and all available statistics concerning the number of workers remunerated at the minimum wage rate and the evolution of minimum wages in recent years as compared to the evolution of indicators such as the consumer price index.

Article 4, paragraphs 2 and 3. Consultations with social partners. Further to its previous comment on this point and the difficulties the Government had reported in connection with the participation of workers’ representatives in the work of advisory minimum wage fixing bodies, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether tripartite dialogue has resumed within such bodies and, if so, to transmit copies of the summary of the latest meetings or activity reports of the AWAB and the GWAB.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide in its next report detailed information on the practical application of the minimum wage legislation in terms of enforcement, including, for instance, extracts of labour inspection reports showing the number and nature of minimum wage-related infringements and the sanctions imposed, especially in the agricultural sector where most cases of non-compliance often occur.