NAIROBI, Kenya – County government workers have called off their planned strike after a consultative meeting on Friday with key stakeholders, which included the Kenya County Government Workers Union (KCGWU), the County Public Service Board Consultative Forum, the Council of Governors, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, and other government entities.
The union’s Secretary-General, Roba Duba, confirmed the decision to suspend the strike, emphasizing that dialogue had been prioritized to resolve long-standing grievances.
“After deliberations, we have agreed to call off the strike to give dialogue a chance,” Duba said.
The meeting resolved that two multi-agency technical committees be formed to address critical concerns raised by county workers, particularly around issues of remuneration and statutory deductions.
The committees are expected to report back within 30 days with concrete solutions.
Duba highlighted that the problems county workers face have persisted since the inception of devolution, accusing some leaders of taking on devolution “reluctantly” and making it difficult to even secure basic audience for workers’ concerns.
The strike was initially scheduled to start on Tuesday, with KCGWU members, including firemen, garbage collectors, revenue clerks, and teachers, prepared to down their tools.
Workers had expressed frustration over being excluded from recent salary adjustments granted to their counterparts in the national government.
In recent weeks, the government has approved pay rises for police officers, teachers, and other civil servants to avert potential strikes that could disrupt essential services.
County workers, however, argue that they were unfairly left out of a 7-10% salary increment awarded to other public servants under phase one of the adjustments.
The union’s Secretary-General, Roba Duba, confirmed the decision to suspend the strike, emphasizing that dialogue had been prioritized to resolve long-standing grievances.
“After deliberations, we have agreed to call off the strike to give dialogue a chance,” Duba said.
The meeting resolved that two multi-agency technical committees be formed to address critical concerns raised by county workers, particularly around issues of remuneration and statutory deductions.
The committees are expected to report back within 30 days with concrete solutions.
Duba highlighted that the problems county workers face have persisted since the inception of devolution, accusing some leaders of taking on devolution “reluctantly” and making it difficult to even secure basic audience for workers’ concerns.
The strike was initially scheduled to start on Tuesday, with KCGWU members, including firemen, garbage collectors, revenue clerks, and teachers, prepared to down their tools.
Workers had expressed frustration over being excluded from recent salary adjustments granted to their counterparts in the national government.
In recent weeks, the government has approved pay rises for police officers, teachers, and other civil servants to avert potential strikes that could disrupt essential services.
County workers, however, argue that they were unfairly left out of a 7-10% salary increment awarded to other public servants under phase one of the adjustments.
