The high cost of living is making low-income earning employees unable to meet their basic needs, an issue that must be addressed by raising wages and tax-free income, the Rwanda Workers' Trade Union Confederation (CESTRAR) has appealed.
It made the appeal in a statement it issued as Rwanda joins the rest of the world to celebrate the International Labour Day on Wednesday, May 1.
Up to this date, the labour union observed, the issue of skyrocketing commodity prices and cost of living has not been solved yet.
It indicated the lack of a minimum wage that responds to the cost of living in Rwanda makes many workers uncomfortable because their wages are not in line with the current market prices, making them fall short of decent living standards, as a result.
"To enable workers cope with the rising prices on the commodity markets and the economic crisis, we urge the government to speed up the establishment of the minimum wage as stipulated by the Rwandan labour law and call the government to consider raising wages of workers in general," it requested.
Currently, employees who earn up to Rwf60,000 a month are not taxed, after Rwanda enacted an income tax law in 2022 that doubled the taxable income cap from the previous Rwf30,000. But, CESTRAR says income of at least Rwf100,000 a month should be exempted from tax to help employees improve their living conditions.
"Based on the average living wages of workers in Rwanda, especially those working in the informal economy sector, we again request the government to reconsider, yet a step further up, the taxable income ceiling from the current Rwf60,000 to at least Rwf100,000 to enable workers from within this wage category to contend with the rising market prices," CESTRAR proposed.
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Meanwhile, referring to the theme "30 years: Fostering Youth - Led Employment" which has been selected for Rwanda in line with the celebration of Labour Day, CESTRAR stated there is much progress to be proud of in the past 30 years, a period over which the Rwandan labour market continued to be improved through various programmes and policies meant to create new jobs every year, with special focus on youth and women access and self-employment.
As a result of this focus, it pointed out, more than 80 per cent of the new jobs created each year were for young people, therefore a great milestone to be proud of.
"In particular, CESTRAR appreciates various programmes introduced by authorities to reduce unemployment in all sectors, especially among young people, these programmes range from workers' job increased knowledge and skills acquisition to the promotion of decent jobs and enhancing skills in Rwanda's digital economy," it observed.
According to the Rwanda Development Board's (RDB) annual report 2023, the country's economy exhibited strong performance as shown by notable improvements in job creation metrics. The unemployment rate [among Rwandans in the working age bracket] decreased from 20 per cent in 2022 to 17 per cent in 2023, while the number of jobs created per year surged from 196,000 in 2022 to 235,000 in 2023, the report showed.
