Employees across all sectors in Embu County, including nurses, market attendants, clerical staff, and enforcement officers, staged a protest on Monday after going three months without pay.
The workers told KNA that the three-month salary delay has left them struggling.
Pauline Njeru, who works at the county headquarters, explained that the county government has consistently failed to remit statutory deductions to banks and the Social Health Authority (SHA), even though the amounts were already deducted from their payslips.
“For those of us with loans, the banks are on our necks due to continued non-payment of installments. This puts us at risk of being auctioned,” she said.
She added that the situation is even more distressing as employees are unable to access treatment at hospitals since SHA remains unpaid due to non-remittances.
The agitated employees said they would paralyze service delivery across the county until their grievances are addressed.
“We are just getting into the month of December and we need money to celebrate with our loved ones,” said Jane Wambet, who works at the county market.
Another employee, John Njoka, who is differently abled, said: “I have been working under contract since 2013. We were promised to be absorbed on permanent and pensionable terms, but nothing is forthcoming.”
He noted that staff are deeply disillusioned by the county government due to underpayment, with some employees earning as little as Sh6,000 without any increment over long periods.
At the time of going to press, no county official had addressed the employees, and efforts to reach the County Secretary were unsuccessful as he was said to be out of office.
– By Makara Kamotho
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