KIGALI, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Rwandan workers' trade union on Wednesday made a fresh appeal for the government to expedite establishing a new minimum wage as the world marked Labor Day.
There is need to fast track the setting up of the minimum wage which is commensurate with changing cost of living, said the Rwanda Workers' Trade Union Confederation in a statement.
A new minimum wage is critical in reducing high income inequalities, the statement said.
It also decried that in many private organizations in the country employee wages are paid haphazardly without clear guidelines, which violates workers' rights.
Rwanda's current minimum wage was set in the 1980s at 100 Rwandan francs (0.11 U.S. dollar) per day, and labor unions argue that it is outdated and is not in line with the current cost of living.
Under the theme "Quality Work, A Catalyst for Sustainable Development", the national Labor Day celebrations in Rwanda were marked in Nyagatare district in eastern Rwanda together with centenary celebrations of the International Labor Organization.
Quality work is important across all sectors of work including agriculture, livestock farming, education and business, said Fanfan Rwanyindo, Rwandan minister of public service and labor, at the celebrations.
Rwanyindo called for collective efforts to enable the government to meet its target of creating 1.5 million decent jobs under its seven-year program from the end of 2017 to 2024.
She also called on Rwandan workers to love their work, be good time managers and support local production.
