Minimum wage

THE Labour Department needs to look into the national minimum wage and at least consider any increment favourable to the needs of the unskilled workers.
Employees are facing a real challenge of increased prices of goods and services especially in urban areas where all the necessities of life sustenance revolve around money, unlike those in the rural areas where most of their needs are readily available in the surrounding environment.
The formulation of this minimum pay package needs to be justified in terms of service cost and goods against the inflated cost we are facing in our country, and that is how a minimum wage should have be determined.
There is virtually nothing substantial in the minimum wage that account to what is now a dreaded challenge for the low class workers because the wage itself is too low against the demands of living expenses.
Just look at the rate! K3.50 per hour is a real joke!
At least by now we should consider this rate irrelevant as it not genuine by virtue of the quantity and the quality ability to afford the basic needs.
In fact, it is not sufficient to afford food that must last a fortnight, school fees, transport cost, hospital or medical fees and net leftovers for other expenses. Not at all!
Budgets for the people who fall into this category always resulted in huge deficits.
Cover up attempts lead to the need to resort to other unwarranted activities such as borrowing, looking for booking money and getting food and other basic needs on credit basis.
As credits and loan accumulate, the net pay after paying for the arrears is less than what they need to cater for their basic needs and the cycle persists.
This remains to be a real nightmare for this people.
Has the Labour Department or the government in their God given wisdom reminded themselves of the plight of the unskilled workers and are they doing something about it?
The call for this wage adjustment is for both the government and the Labour Department to open their eyes and see the challenges of inflation and the need to amend the minimum wage.
I, therefore, urge the concerned department and the government to analyse and evaluate against the overlapping imbalances of goods and service cost against the financial inability of the minimum wage to formulate a reasonable rate that is compatible.
Please do something about it!

Tony Guan
KONDAN BAUNDO-Simbaix!