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4 Review the Minimum Wage: CfSC Press Statement for February, 2012 As the cost of living continues to upsurge against a backdrop of static or minimal salary increment that are outpaced by inflation, it is the women and men on minimum wage that are desperately hit by the high cost of living and are prone to exploitation in their work places. The minimum wage in Malawi currently stands at K176 per day. This means that the minimum monthly salary ranges from K3, 520 to K5, 280 depending on the number of days one works and nature of work that one is engaged in. Spotchecks conducted by CfSC in the city of Lilongwe, for example, revealed that most house workers (maids, gardeners etc.) receive a monthly salary average of K per month. This is a far cry from meeting their Basic Needs Basket which currently stands at an average of K78,916; K66,865; K72,141 and K67,406 for Lilongwe, Zomba, Blantyre and Mzuzu, respectively. As figure 1 show, prices for some food items went up with a significant percentage while others seem to have stabilised in February. Figure 1: Depicting isolated items that registered a sharp increase in the month February. Over the past year and more so now it has become very apparent that the purchasing power of the minimum wage has lagged badly behind the cost of living. Earnestly, it is absurd to expect anyone to afford the cost of living today and be able to invest in their future on a pay rate of MK3, 520/month. The issue of minimum wage is ultimately a matter of human dignity. It is important that working people deserve a pay upon which they can survive comfortably. It is equally a matter of dignity and crucial to the ability of working men and women to climb the economic ladder. As such it would be a top priority of any economic activity to repair the ladder to success, to make an investment in our working families and ensure that they can continue to do so as the cost of living continues to rise. The minimum wage needs to be raised not just for the goods and services a person can buy but for the self esteem and self worth it affords. The minimum wage needs to be raised and indexed to inflation to ensure wages don t erode in the future. An indexed minimum wage requires an increase each year to adjust for inflation according to the cost of living or Consumer Price Index. Raising the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation is a matter of economic fairness, and it s a plan that progressively rewards hardworking men and women who are trying to make ends meet. Increasing the state minimum wage and indexing it to inflation is a smart policy. It will benefit both workers and our state economy, as this money will be spent right back in our local communities. As such there will be assurance that never again would the buying power of the minimum wage be ravaged by inflation. Workers and their employers will have modest and predictable annual increases to plan for. In his Encyclical, "God is Love," Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that: "The just ordering of society and the State is a central responsibility of politics... Justice is both the aim and the intrinsic criterion of all politics. Politics is more than a mere mechanism for defining the rules of public life: its origin and its goal are found in justice, which by its very nature has to do with ethics. The

5 State must inevitably face the question of how justice can be achieved here and now." ( 28) The CFSC renews its support for an increase in the minimum wage. For us, it is a matter of simple justice for a decent society. Raising the minimum wage is only one step needed to address the larger, more pressing problem of poverty in Malawi. For more information and feedback, please contact: Alex Nkosi, Social Conditions Research Programme Officer Centre for Social Concern, P.O. Box 40049, Lilongwe, Malawi Tel: Fax: Cell: / / E mail: alex.nkosi@cfscmalawi.org or alexnkosi@yahoo.com jkuppens@cfscmalawi.org ; bnb urban@cfscmalawi.org or cfsc@malawi.net Location: Next to St. Francis Catholic Parish, Area 25C, Kanengo. Website:

6 C FSC B ASI C N E E DS B ASK E T: L I L O NG W E, B L A N T Y R E, Z O MB A & M Z U Z U February, 2012 (A) COST OF BASIC FOOD ITEMS FOR A HOUSEHOLD SIZE OF SIX PEOPLE IN LILONGWE, ZOMBA, BLANTYRE & MZUZU Lilongwe Zomba Blantyre Mzuzu Commodity Q uantity K wacha Total K wacha Total K wacha Total K wacha Total Maize (50 Kg Bag) 2 Bags , Milling (Including Grinding) 14 Tins Beans (0.8kg/day) 8 Days 6.4 Kg Usipa (250g/day) 4 days 1 Kg Dry Utaka (200g/day) 4 days 0.8 Kg Kapenta (200g/day) 4 days 0.8 Kgs Beef (1 kg/day) 4 days 4 Kgs Eggs (12/day) 4 days Rape (750g/day) for 30 days 22.5 Kgs Tomato (0.5 kg/day) 30 days 15 Kgs Onion (116g/day) 30 days 3.5 Kgs Fresh Milk (250mls/day) 30 days 15x500 ml pkt Kazinga Cooking Oil 3x 1 Litres Bread (5 Bk fts/week) 20 days 20 Loaves Sugar (2 kgs/week) 8 Kgs Kitchen Salt 1 Kg Tea (Chisangalalo) 40 x 25g Cassava (2kgsx2bkfsts/wk) 16 Kgs Sub-total 46,789 41,981 45,009 40,847 Sub-total (Food Basket) (B) COST OF ESSENTIAL NON FOOD ITEMS Charcoal (50 Kgs) 2 Bags Protex bath soap 10 Tablets Boom wash soap 8 Packets Clere Body Lotion 2 x 400 Mls Vaseline Blue Seal 2 x 100 Mls Electricity (Meter) Average/Month 3,890 3, Running Water (Meter) Average/Month 1,854 1, Housing (3 Bed roomed) Rent/Month 23,417 23,417 12,563 12, ,012 12,012 13,350 13,350 Sub-total 38,555 24,884 27,132 26,559 Total for Basic Needs Basket 78,916 66,865 72,141 67,406 City Average from previous months June10 July10 Aug. 10 Sept. 10 Oct.1 0 Nov. 10 Dec. 10 Jan. 11 Feb.11. Marc.1 1 Apri.11 May.1 1 June. 11 Jan,12 July.11 Aug.11 Sept.11 Oct.11 Nov.1 Dec 1 11 Amount (MK) 47,677 48,243 47,246 46,566 44,556 44,933 45,530 47,334 48,044 49,112 49,070 49,211 49,50 54,398 53,453 56,032 57,407 61,778 63, ,930 (C) SOME OTHER ADDITIONAL COSTS Lilongwe Zomba Blantyre Mzuzu Education (per year) Fuel (cost at the pump) Secondary (fees) 8,415 7, 525 6,000 7, 600 Diesel (per litre) K360 Primary (GPF) , 200 Petrol (per litre) K380 Uniform/shoes (Primary) 1,550 2, 920 3,200 2, 100 Paraffin (per litre) K171 Uniform/shoes (Secondary 2,280 5, 100 4,000 4, 400 Minibus fare to town and back LL: MK300 MK1000; Other (pens, books, etc.) 1,044 3, 900 2,600 2, 700 BT: K K180; ZA: MK200 MK240; MZ: MK200 MK240 NB: 1 USA dollar ($) = 167 Malawian Kwacha (MK) Note: Income figures will be released from the February Household survey findings later on The Social Conditions Research Program of the Centre for Social Concern conducted these surveys on 23 RD and 24 th FEBRUARY 2012 in the cities of Blantyre, Zomba, Lilongwe and Mzuzu Center for Social Concern, P.O. Box 40049, Lilongwe, Malawi Tel: Fax: E mail: alex.nkosi@cfscmalawi.org; alexnkosi@yahoo.com; or jkuppens@cfscmalawi.org Location: Next to St. Francis Catholic Parish, Area 25C, Kanengo Website: