The previous government had not completed the legally mandated review of the country’s minimum wage, the Minister of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development, Dr Ali Haidar Ahmed has told Parliament.
Responding to a question over the review in Parliament on Monday, Minister Dr Haidar said the country’s minimum wage came into effect in November 2021.
As per the law, the government is mandated to review the minimum wage limit every two years which means the first review was due in November 2023, he said.
However, the previous government, according to the Minister, had not initiated efforts to conduct the legally mandated review.
Immediately after President Dr Mohamed Muizzu assumed office in November 2023, all documents and data had been gathered and shared with the Minimum Advisory Board which had been reconstituted in July last year.
According to the Minister, most of the technical staff who had been involved in the minimum wage process had left for various reasons which had caused considerable delays.
To plug the shortfall, the Minimum Wage Advisory Board and the International Labor Organization (ILO) are working together to acquire the technical assistance required to conduct the review, he explained.
"There are many factors to consider in setting the minimum wage. And since it is the responsibility of the government to set the minimum wage so that it does not become a burden or cause an adverse impact on the economy and the labour force, it must be done based on research and careful consideration of many factors,” he said.
The Minister said the minimum wage review with the assistance of ILO has been divided into two phases. The first phase will include the data gathering data from the latest labour force survey, household income and expenditure survey along with primary data such as census and national productivity index.
The review will move onto phase two as soon as phase one is completed, he added.
Minister Dr Haidar assured that the labour force survey will be completed by December this year.