The union and staff delegates as well as the employers’ organizations of the plateaus and central received this Tuesday, March 14, 2023 in Atakpamé, the visit of the Minister of the Public Service, Labor and Social Dialogue, Gilbert Bawara. This meeting is part of an information, listening and discussion tour on the implementation of the revalued guaranteed interprofessional minimum wage (SMIG).
Through this initiative, it is a question of meeting economic actors, in particular traders, managers of small and medium-sized enterprises, to inquire regarding the difficulties they experience in terms of the content of this new measure announced by the government on 1is last January.
The interview focused on the meaning and significance of the SMIG and the implications.
“The SMIG applies to employers as well as to employees subject to the labor code and employers are required to respect it. But at the same time, we must be attentive and attentive to the challenges and difficulties that this revaluation might entail and that it must not necessarily and ineluctably mean the modification of the remuneration grids in the companies”, indicated the Minister Gilbert Bawara.
He informed the trade union organizations of Togolese workers and the professional organizations of employers to avoid possible misunderstandings and misunderstandings that may arise and instead use the path of dialogue and consultation in companies when problems arise.
For him, workers and employers have a great interest in sitting down in a spirit of citizenship and responsibility to closely examine the nature of the problem that is arising and to find the most suitable solutions, because no one wants this new SMIG is synonymous with the reduction of jobs, a brake on investments and economic activities, or even difficulties in terms of social contributions and the inability of companies to meet their tax burdens.
“My objective is for economic activity to continue and for investments to also increase and job creation to continue,” Minister Bawara said.
According to the spokesperson for the trade unions, Mr. Palanga Agui, human capital is important. “If the workers are not satisfied, to what extent will the economic operator be able to succeed in his mission and realize his gain? he asked himself, while advocating dialogue.
After Kara and Atakpamé, the ministerial delegation will soon be in the maritime region and in Grand Lomé for the same exchange exercise.
It should be noted that the exchanges at the Atakpamé stage took place in the presence of the President of the National Council of Employers (CNP) of Togo, Mr. Tamegnon Coami Laurent.
From Atakpame, Evrard Nomanyo