Kenya Power workers have issued a strike notice after talks over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) stalled, sparking fears of power outages if the standoff continues February 28.
The Kenya Electrical Trades and Allied Workers Union (KETAWU) said employees at the state utility were under severe financial pressure and saw the proposed CBA as the only immediate relief available.
Speaking in Kisumu during the union’s elections, KETAWU National General Secretary Ernest Nadome said rising living costs had eroded workers’ earnings.
“We all agree that the economy and inflation are affecting everybody. We have issues of affordable housing, taxation and the levies that are being imposed on us. Kenya Power employees are bearing all that,” Nadome said.
He added that the impact was being felt most sharply in workers’ take-home pay. “Our disposable income is completely low. The CBA we negotiated was meant to cushion employees from these harsh economic conditions,” he said.
Nadome challenged official assessments of economic stability, arguing that they did not reflect the lived reality of many workers. “The economy is said to be doing well and inflation is low, but what we are talking about is disposable income. Kenyans do not have money. We don’t have money in our pockets,” he said.
The union has now put the government and key state agencies on notice, including the Cabinet Secretary, the Public Service Commission, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission and the Head of Civil Service.
“We are sending a message to the government, the Cabinet Secretary, the Public Service Commission, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) and the Head of Civil Service. Come the end of February, if there is no CBA that is going to be implemented, then prepare for a big response. The eventualities will be far-reaching in this country,” Nadome said.
Re-elected as national general secretary, Nadome insisted the financial demands were modest compared with Kenya Power’s earnings. “If you calculate, Kenya Power workers for example are categorised as Class B. We are talking of almost around five billion. It is not really a lot of money,” he said. “When a company makes Sh34 billion and what you are demanding is a paltry five billion as a yearly increment, that is just a drop in the ocean.”
KETAWU warned that any strike would disrupt electricity supply to homes, businesses and public institutions, but said the action could still be avoided if the agreement was concluded and implemented in time.
– Additional reporting by KNA
Email your news TIPS to Editor@nairobilawmonthly.com, and to advertise with us, call +254715061658 anytime of the day
