“Businesses that fail to honour the implementation of the six per cent salary increase should shut down,’’ this is a tough stand by one of Kenya’s most decorated labour activist, Francis Atwoli.
When he is not calling out those faulting labour laws, Atwoli, a common figure at Labour Day Celebrations in Kenya since 2001 is making powerful political statements, some of which have come to shape Kenya’s social economic fabric.
From issues such as inadequate laws to protect workers from exploitation in the emerging jobs to labour exports, The Star Newspaper caught up with the avid rhumba fan over a vast array of issue impacting Kenyas jobs sector.
How would you describe Kenyas employment landscape?
Kenya's employment landscape depends on how we attract both direct and indirect investment, and how much we invest in manufacturing.
If we are not in the export business, then we can't attract foreign exchange—and if we can't attract foreign exchange, we can't expand employment opportunities.
These opportunities are found in construction, the building of new roads, new infrastructure, and the business community putting up several buildings across the Republic.
That shows how the economy is booming. That's why we have always advised the government that we must put policies in place that can spur economic growth.
What measures have COTU put in place to safeguard the welfare of its members?
The directive that the President gave on May 1st addressed the exploitation of labour in Kenya, which often occurs through the outsourcing of workers by various companies.
When outsourced workers are paid, statutory deductions—such as taxes, NHIF, NSSF, and others—are often not made. These deductions are essential, as they contribute to national development.
Moreover, outsourced workers are usually treated as casuals, meaning they cannot join trade unions or be protected by Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs).
Yes, the President gave that directive on May 1st. If you were there, you would have seen that the Head of Public Service and the Cabinet Secretary for Labour were instructed to ensure that, even when workers are outsourced, they must be covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement. This means they must be union members.
Additionally, the salaries paid to outsourced workers must fall within the wage brackets stipulated for other Kenyan workers.
How are you addressing high unemployment rate among Kenyan youth?
If you see Kazi Kwa vijana and all this other employment of the youth initiative was started by COTU.
It is us, during Labour Day of 2007, we started agitating for the youth to be employed. And that is why government came up with an idea of making sure that they absorb young people. We also pushed that those who come from schools, they should join National Youth Service and then from there they can join police, army and prisons. Now the Kenyan government has opened like that.
On top of what they recruit from the field, they address issues of young people who have gone through National Youth Service. And the other area now COTU has been advocating is that each and every employer who wants to employ must have a portal to attract applications.
The introduction of portals in every parastatal and big companies was introduced by COTU.
So that you can go to a portal, if it is KRA, you look at their portal and you see which jobs are available and where you can fit as per your education and you apply. That was our baby.
How effective are Kenya’s current labour laws in protecting workers' rights?
I was the one who introduced the current labour laws in 2006 and 2007, and we sought the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO) at the time.
These five sets of labour laws were designed to replace the outdated colonial-era labour legislation. That was my initiative. Similarly, Article 41 in Chapter Six of our Constitution is a product of COTU’s advocacy. It guarantees workers the right to join a trade union of their choice, the right to strike, and the right to enter into collective bargaining agreements.
Kenya and South Africa are the only two countries in the world whose constitutions include collective bargaining rights in the Bill of Rights.
However, the current labour laws need to be updated. Much has changed since 2006, including the rise of artificial intelligence, the gig economy, the platform economy, and the broader digital—or “smart”—economy. These developments need to be incorporated into our labour laws.
At the ILO, we are currently working on establishing standards for those employed in the gig economy. We urge ILO member states to take the lead in putting legal instruments in place to address these emerging forms of employment, as they are not currently covered under existing labour laws.
These are precisely the areas where labour law amendments are urgently needed. They must be reflected in the Employment Act and the other five sets of labour laws.
At present, most gig workers fall under the communication workers’ union, since much of the gig economy is related to that sector. However, as the sector evolves, we have encouraged our colleagues in that union to absorb these workers and allow them to take up positions within the union. If they are not allowed to do so, gig workers should also be free to form their own union.
With the rising cost of living, does COTU believe the current minimum wage is sufficient?
Let me tell you, COTU does not believe in the concept of a minimum wage as a standalone solution. COTU believes in negotiations and dialogue through collective bargaining on behalf of its members.
However, we advocate for the minimum wage because we are the only labour centre that represents both the employed and the unemployed.
We cannot effectively improve our collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) if the minimum wage remains low. That is why we fight for an increase in the minimum wage.
The current minimum wage is insufficient across various sectors of our economy. That is why, this year, we have demanded a 25 per cent increase.
However, because the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) frustrated the implementation of last year’s 6 per cent increase, both the President and the government were dissatisfied.
As a result, they have stated that the FKE must fully implement the six per cent increase before the government can authorize any further adjustments to the minimum wage.
Have you ever taken any action against employers who failed to observe minimum wage?
We have already written to the Minister of Labour. And the Minister of Labour has been also ordered by the president to make sure that those who didn't honour, they have implemented.
And if they don't, they are brought to book. If they don't confirm, their trading licences are cancelled.
A lot of workers are still not members of trade unions where do you think the problem lies?
In sectors like construction, we have the Construction and Building Workers Union. They maintain a list of workers, especially skilled laborers and manual workers in a specific area.
When their contracts expire, it becomes the responsibility of the union to help transition them to new projects. New contractors, including foreign companies such as the Chinese, often come in to take on new infrastructure projects.
The union negotiates with these new contractors to absorb workers from expired contracts into the new ones. This process has worked well.
In my union—the Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union—we deal with seasonal and piecemeal workers, depending on agricultural cycles.
After one season, like planting or harrowing, ends, we naturally transition into another, like harvesting. We carry over the same workers from one season to the next.
Those who remain unemployed temporarily are usually reabsorbed when the next planting season begins. So there's a continuity of employment, and we include them in our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Seasonal workers are covered under the CBA.
For a long time, union membership in this country has been voluntary. It’s different from countries like China or some Asian and northern countries where workers automatically become union members upon employment. Here, you must choose to join a union to protect your workplace rights.
Members are more likely to join if they see the union actively working for them. We’ve encouraged our union leaders to work hard for their existing members to attract new ones. However, one major challenge in industrial areas is that many employers hire workers on a casual basis. These contracts are often renewed every three or six months, yet the work is continuous.
We’ve called on the government to address this issue. A job that is continuous should not be treated as casual. We’ve asked Parliament, especially the Labour Committee, to enact legislation stating that if someone has been a casual worker for six months, they should be absorbed into permanent employment—without being dismissed or issued with a stop letter.
The government has a duty to support this through enforcement. The Labour Commissioner has the authority to prosecute non-compliant employers. If the government fails to act, they are failing to protect and create jobs. Unions can only organise and protect workers’ terms and conditions of employment once those people are hired. But it’s up to the government to ensure fair employment practices.
Do you think some unions are not doing enough to attract new members?
Yes, I believe so. If you see an industry with many non-unionised workers, then the union is not doing its job. That’s the honest truth. A union that’s performing well will have near-total membership in its sector.
I can name a few unions in Kenya that are doing well. In my own union—the Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union—we have strong membership. Public service unions like KUPPET and KNUT have almost all teachers unionised. The bank and insurance sectors also have strong union presence.
The Tailors and Textile Workers Union, Electrical Workers Union, and Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers Union have also done good work.
On Labour Day, you can see their presence. Even in engineering, some unions have made commendable efforts. But some smaller unions still have a long way to go in mobilising and organizing workers effectively.
What is COTU’s stance on the increasing cases of workplace harassment and unfair dismissals, and how should they be addressed?
There has been growing concern about the increasing trend of labour exportation, which lacks proper structures to protect the rights and welfare of the workers involved.
This is something I have spoken out against for a long time. If you review past press statements, you'll find I consistently warned Kenyans and urged the government to abolish the National Employment Authority (NEA).
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: NEA is an agent of modern slavery. It should not be a standalone authority but rather a department within the Ministry of Labour. NEA collaborates closely with employment agents, who are nothing short of modern-day slave traders.
The laws that permit these agents to operate must be suspended immediately. These agents send our young people to countries like Saudi Arabia without conducting any assessment of the working conditions they will face.
Many of our youth end up in inhumane situations—forced to work for people who believe they "own" them, like slaves. You’ve seen these stories on television.
We must oppose the export of domestic workers and unskilled labour, especially to the Gulf region. It is modern slavery, plain and simple.
Instead of exporting our workforce, we need mechanisms to grow our own economy and create employment opportunities within Kenya. Kenya has long been a hub of economic activity in the region.
Until recently, we had the highest GDP in East Africa—surpassing Ethiopia until they overtook us.
We need to go back to the drawing board. We must implement policies that attract investors and eliminate corruption.
No investor wants to operate in a corrupt environment. If we stop corruption, many investors will be willing to come to Kenya, pay taxes, and still take home reasonable returns. This will create jobs and empower our citizens—right here at home.
As technology replaces some jobs, what measures is COTU pushing for to ensure workers are reskilled and retained?
We submitted a recommendation to the International Labour Organization emphasizing that when new technology is introduced in an industry, there must be prior consultation between employers and unions. This ensures that workers can be retrained to manage the transition.
For instance, if the new technology involves artificial intelligence (AI), we should train young men and women in areas related to advanced information technology.
If AI is being introduced in combination with synthetic biology—creating robots to replace human labor—we must negotiate these changes. It is essential to agree on such developments in advance. If necessary, we should also train people to repair and maintain these robots.
We cannot stop the advancement of technology, but we must work together to integrate it responsibly into industry.
That’s why I stress the importance of preparing for AI. AI is central to the digital economy, e-commerce, platform economies, and the broader "smart economy." Everything is becoming smart—phones, tablets, computers, TVs. If this is coming to our industry, we must ask: how many young people have we trained to manage it? These trained individuals will remain our members.
We cannot run from technology, but we must find ways to manage and adapt to it. We also need proper standardization. Without it, many people will profit in the shadows, without paying taxes or contributing to government revenue. You can have a company with branches worldwide, operating through the smart economy, yet not present in Kenya. You could be sitting in Karachonyo, selling oil from Syria to Brazil, with all the money going into a UK bank account—bypassing Kenya entirely. That’s a loss to our economy.
How effective have discussions between the government, employers, and workers (through COTU) been in resolving employment disputes?
In the private sector, CBAs are valid for only two years, as per ILO standards. This is the model we want the government to adopt. The ILO does not support four-year CBAs. So, any union leader signing a CBA for four years doesn't understand international labour standards. Unfortunately, this is happening in public service unions.
Through the SRC—yes, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission—public sector unions are being pressured to sign four-year CBAs. But a four-year CBA has no basis in ILO conventions.
Another issue in government is that unions must ensure any wage increase is aligned with the national budget. If you demand more money than is budgeted, implementation becomes nearly impossible—because government operates strictly within budget limits.
In the public service, CBAs are often not honoured because they agree on wage increases that aren’t reflected in the budget. That’s where the conflict arises.
In contrast, the private sector has a well-functioning system. Every two years, negotiations take place, agreements are reached, and CBAs are registered with the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
If CBAs aren't honoured, ILO Conventions can be invoked—especially Convention No. 1, which addresses salaries, wages, and incomes. You should also refer to ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on collective bargaining, and Convention 144, which protects wages and requires consultation on labour matters. These standards exist in law—it’s a matter of enforcement by public service unions.
Public service unions must now ensure, especially as the June budget approaches, that wage increases are clearly included in the Treasury’s budget. And they must push to reduce CBA terms from four years to two.
Our role is to provide policy direction to our affiliates. It is up to the affiliates to push for implementation.
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