Date: Thu, 7 May 2009 15:20:51 -0700 [05:20:51 PM CDT]
From: George Nyongesa
Subject: Labour Day, Labour rights and the Kenyan worker!

Dear Comrades,

On Saturday, May 2, 2009 on Uhaki program -a weekly grass root human rights education program (aired on 99.9 Pamoja FM), we discussed: Labour Day, Labour rights and the Kenyan worker. Please find below, I have reproduced the talk show material:

Labour Day, Labour rights and the Kenyan worker!

History of Labour Day:

– 1st May, 2009 is the day traditionally marked around the world as the annual workers’ day, celebrating economic and social achievements of workers.

– It has its origins in the activities of the “Eight Hour Day” movement which during the Industrial Revolution in Britain campaigned against the long hours and poor working conditions in factories under the slogan “Eight hours Labour, Eight hours recreation, Eight hours rest”.

– The International Labour Organisation was formed in 1919 as part of the then League of Nations (today’s United Nations) to protect workers’ rights.

– The UN Declaration of Human Rights includes:

a) Article 23 of the UDHR which provides that:

1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.

2. Everyone, without discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work

3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

b) Article 24 of the UDHR further provides that everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Labour Rights:

– Labour Unions have over the years continued to agitate for what are collectively known as Labours Rights.

Meaning of labour rights

– Labour rights (also known as workers’ rights) are defined as a group of legal rights and claimed human rights that have to do with labour relations between workers and their employers and that are usually obtained under labour and employment law.

– These rights originally centred on workers’ right to organise under unions, but have over the years evolved to include rights related to, amongst others:

a) workers’ remuneration

b) workers’ benefits

c) safe working conditions

d) combating child labour

e) regulating minimum wages

f) combating discrimination

g) combating sexual harassment

h) ensuring workers compensation for work injuries.

Labour day 2009

a) Global context:

– The ongoing global financial recession has impacted workers in various ways including through lay-offs, redundancies and retrenchments at the office level, in addition to decreased purchasing power in inflated economies at personal levels.

– Workers globally continue to demand that their governments cushion them, for instance, create necessary protective measures against harsh elements of economic recession.

– However, irresponsible leadership and people-insensitive governments have failed to do listen to their citizenry and the hungry and angry are not taking it lying down, for example: in Turkey, Greece, France and Germany, workers marked Labour Day, 2009 by staging demonstrations that turned into running battles with policemen.

b) Kenyan context:

– In Kenya, the national celebrations were marked at Uhuru Park, Nairobi.

– Unlike past events, the President Mwai Kibaki did not attend but sent his speech through the Minister for Labour, Mr. John Munyes.

– The Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka likewise were missing in action.

– The celebrations ended abruptly when the workers walked off in dissatisfaction and pelted the dais with stones in the middle of the reading of the president’s speech by Minister Munyes and despite the playing national anthem.

– Kenya’s current unemployment rate is estimated at 49%.

– With the tough economic times, there have been over 8000 lay-offs in the past year alone.

– 1500 are expected to lose jobs on the closure of Pan Paper.

– 30,000 jobs have already been lost at Webuye Paper Mills.

– 20,000 jobs have been lost in the tourism industry.

– Upto 50,000 jobs have been lost in the tea industry.

New Kenyan Labour law:

– Recently, the Kenyan labour law regime was overhauled with the introduction of various pieces of legislation:

a) Employment Act 2007

b) Labour Institutions Act 2007

c) Labour Relations Act 2007

d) Occupational Safety and Health Act 2007

e) Work Injury Benefits Act 2007
– However, there have been hitches in the implementation of these statutes.
For example:

a) the Law Society of Kenya were recently awarded a ruling that declared various provisions of the Work Injury Benefits Act void for being unconstitutional

b) the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) has not been entirely receptive of the new Employment Law regime citing non-consultation and impracticality

c) the Association of Kenya Insurers is no longer providing the necessary class of insurance as they await the court ruling’s effect to be interpreted

The result has been that employees have not fully benefited from the protection of their rights that was envisaged by the new laws. The Ministry of Labour is looking to the Attorney General to appeal the court ruling so that the relevant Act can remain in force.

– The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) has not articulated workers issues to FKE save for long and empty speeches given at Labour Day celebrations. This year, 2009, COTU Secretary General, Mr Francis Atwoli, in a not so innocent manner zeroed in supermarket chain Nakumatt Ltd for poor workers’ pay, spoke against foreign investors that oppress workers, decried the continued privatisation and grabbing of public property and utilities e.g. the naming rights of the Nyayo National Stadium and called for the unionisation of police and army officers. It is for the workers to judge whether this attack was about his or workers’ interest?

– Despite the foregoing background the only change made by government was towards the minimum wage, which had not been revised since 2006. The 11% average (about K.Shs. 735) increase of minimum wages was as follows:

a) Agricultural sector wages – K.Shs 3043/=

b) General wages (Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu towns) – K.Shs. 6130/=

c) Municipalities (including Mavoko, Ruiru and Limuru) wages – K.Shs. 5655/=

d) All other areas in the country – K.Shs. 3270/=
– Although, Minister John Munyes termed this the highest increase ever awarded by the government, workers have termed it inadequate in the current economy, especially for Kenyans who have always been in recession- the poor.

For example:

a) Over 50% of Kenyans live on less than K.Shs. 76/= per day (i.e. below a dollar), not mentioning that millions of households in hard core poverty are on skip –a- meal program.

b) An average Kenyan town family requires at least K.Shs. 20,000/= per month for minimum necessities. The increase does not match the inflation rate, prices of basic commodities and therefore workers’ purchasing power is still disadvantaged.

c) What is to happen to construction workers who are paid meagre wages on a daily basis?

d) Workers must live in poor housing and sanitary conditions because they cannot afford better.

e) There are very many workers on minimum wage that have high school children to pay fees for.

Kenyan workers’ plight

Even as Kenya’s 2009 national Labour Day celebrations were held at Uhuru Park, most workers felt that there was nothing to celebrate about and were only impatient to hear whether this year the Government had heard their plight.

Even as they felt disrespected by the no-show of the Kibaki, Raila and Kalonzo and forgotten by those they voted for-legislators, workers’ greatest labour concerns remain job security and proper remuneration.

The big questions that all of us, as a society must contemplate actively are: why should some Kenyans work so hard: from sun-up in the morning till sun-down in the evening and not afford food, housing and shelter for their families; healthcare for themselves, proper education for their children, and never liberate their generation from poverty cycle? In addition, why should we, the Kenyan workers celebrate Labour Day?

The Government of Kenya does not appear to be doing anything to cushion Kenyan workers against the impact of the economic recession. Opinion polls in our media show that 94% Kenyans are dissatisfied with the way the Government is handling workers’ plight.

George Nyongesa,
Bunge la Mwananchi
W: www.bungelamwananchi.org
T: +254 720 451 235