NAIROBI, Kenya – A fierce row has erupted between the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) and the Ministry of Labour over plans to declare hundreds of workers redundant in four cash-strapped state-owned sugar factories.
Leaked correspondence between government ministries, the union and the management of Nzoia, South Nyanza (SONY), Chemelil and Muhoroni sugar companies reveals sharp divisions on how the ailing millers should be restructured.
In an August 12 letter, Agriculture Principal Secretary Kiprono Ronoh directed the companies to issue formal redundancy notices to employees as part of a state-backed leasing programme.
The PS instructed that the notices must clearly state termination reasons, employee entitlements under the Employment Act and existing Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), and be copied to County Labour Officers. He further assured workers that all dues would be settled in full.
However, in a September 1 letter, the Ministry of Labour appeared to soften the blow, inviting COTU to nominate a representative to a tripartite committee involving government, employers and workers to review the legality of the layoffs and manage the transition.
COTU flatly rejected the proposal. In a strongly worded October 3 response, Secretary General Francis Atwoli accused the Labour Ministry of betraying its mandate and siding with employers in pushing for job cuts.
“It is deeply concerning that the Ministry, whose central mandate is employment creation, would convene a meeting to discuss redundancy at a time when the unemployment crisis in our country is acute,” Atwoli said.
“We are not prepared, now or in the future, to participate in any meeting chaired by the Ministry to discuss how to declare workers redundant.”
The veteran trade unionist instead demanded fresh talks on strategies to expand job opportunities, while calling for the repeal of the redundancy clause introduced into Kenyan law in 1994 under pressure from the World Bank and IMF.
“As COTU we believe it is through the Ministry of Labour that we can collectively support the President in generating meaningful employment, particularly for the growing number of young people leaving institutions of learning,” he added.
The standoff now threatens to derail the government’s sugar sector reforms, already bogged down by years of debt, mismanagement and falling output.
Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua has yet to comment publicly on the fallout, which sets the stage for a political showdown with Kenya’s most influential workers’ union.
