GOVERNMENT’s evident reluctance to effectively intervene in the impasse between the factory workers and their employers over wages has finally had disastrous outcomes.

A worker has died and another seriously injured in the scuffles that culminated with looting and destruction of property on Tuesday night.

Many other people have been injured since the beginning of the protests on May 14.

Some were also arrested, though no formal charges have since been leveled against them.

The government was on Wednesday supposed to meet the workers unions to decide on the way forward in the debacle.

Of course, the workers rightly want the government to publish the 2020/21 minimum wage gazette as promised last week.

If published, the gazette would see the sullen workers earn upgraded wages from the current average earnings of M2 100.

Instead, the government is dally-dallying, buying time for whatever reasons it secretly possesses.

But it does not make sense what is holding Dr Majoro’s government from doing what is right by the workers and coming to their aid.

After all, they deserve the salary increment given the workload they face and the long hours they pull in to earn their wages.

Over the weekend at the ABC rally in Ha Abia, the prime minister made a pledge that the concerns of the disgruntled workers who have been boycotting work for the past fortnight would subsequently be heeded with the release of the much-anticipated gazette, not later than Monday this week.

But to date, no gazette has been seen and no apparent explanation given except that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has been invited to intervene in the squabble.

Last week the government begged the striking workers to stop their demonstrations, giving its word that it would definitely deal with their gripes this week.