Despite the rising cost of living, a lot has been achieved in terms of job creation for the youth, Rwanda Workers’ Trade Union Confederation (CESTRAR) stated as Rwanda marks Labour Day on May 1, 2024, under the national theme "30 years: Fostering Youth Led Employment.”

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"Based on this theme, there is much progress to be proud of in the past 30 years, a period over which the Rwandan labour market has continued to improve through various programmes and policies to create new jobs every year, with a special focus on youth and women access and self-employment. As a result of this focus, more than 80 per cent of the new jobs created each year were for young people, therefore a great milestone to be proud of,” Africain Biraboneye, the general secretary of the confederation, said.

He mentioned that career development and trades are receiving increasing attention due to their significant contribution to Rwanda’s labour market framework.

"We thank the Government for having paid special attention to TVET, which has fostered more youth participation. We appreciate various programmes introduced by authorities to reduce unemployment in all sectors, especially among young people. These programmes range from workers’ increased knowledge and skills acquisition to the promotion of decent jobs and enhancing skills in Rwanda’s digital economy.”

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However, he noted that many institutions that provide technical vocational education and training (TVET) still lack the necessary resources and equipment to deliver quality skills packages to compete more effectively once their graduates reach the labour market.

"We request that the on-job learning and skills upgrading programme be made available to all sectors of the labour force, and we urge all workers and employers to embrace it and actively participate to the fullest,” Biraboneye noted.

He urged authorities to ensure that the infrastructure related to technology is widely distributed nationwide and that "its cost is reviewed to enable a large number of young people to afford, thus become more productive to the national economy.”

On May 1, the labour ministry and stakeholders will discuss the potential of digital jobs for youth employment. The launch of a four-year project, by Rwanda and the International Labour Organization, to avail decent jobs and skills for youth in Rwanda’s digital economy is also expected.

The labour union commended the Private Sector Federation of Rwanda (PSF) for establishing the Imanzi Business Institute (IBI), a national training centre that provides training to many workers who once had to study abroad and are now being trained in Rwanda, equipped with sufficient knowledge related to the labour market demands.

Cost of living and minimum wage

Biraboneye has said that the issue of skyrocketing commodity prices and cost of living which has not yet been solved is a major challenge to workers whose salary is not increased at the same time.

To enable workers to cope with the rising prices on the commodity markets and the economic crisis, he urged 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 the wages of workers in general.

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"In particular, the fact that there is no minimum wage in Rwanda makes a large number of workers uncomfortable because their wages are not in line with the current market prices and fall short of decent living standards by the bulk of the labour force.

"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 ceiling from the current Rwf60,000 up to at least Rwf100,000 to enable workers from within this wage category to contend with the rising market prices.,” Biraboneye noted.

He added that there is a need for horizontal promotion for workers in essential services, especially medical institutions where workers who performed exceptionally well during the COVID-19 outbreak, until today, still have not been promoted (horizontal promotion).

"Workers from these essential services have been praised for their dedication one way or the other, and we continue to request that this issue be resolved.”

They also asked the government to solve the recurring issue related to salary gaps and inequality among local government executive secretaries of cells whereby those working in the rural provinces are paid different salaries than those in the city and urban areas, yet they perform the same duties.

Safety and health at work

This year, the global theme for International Labour Day is to ensure workplace safety and health amidst climate change.

"As the world finds itself engrossed in vicious cycles of climate change and global warming effects, CESTRAR is asking the government, employers, and workers to take part in protecting the workplace.

"We also take the opportunity to request the government and partners in the mining sector to take strict measures to determine the performance, and protect the health of workers as many of them continue to lose their lives while working in very poor working conditions,” he added.