Kenya - 2011

In August, Kenyan citizens voted by a two thirds majority for a new Constitution that is designed to limit the powers of the president and devolve power to the regions. It also paves the way for the establishment of a land commission and sweeping changes to the police and judiciary. The year also saw the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) open an investigation into the post-election violence.

Trade unions under attack : The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) has warned that the labour movement is under attack from multinational corporations that engage in cutthroat competition. As a result of privatisation many workers have had to re-apply for their jobs under new contracts, often with multinational corporations which usually require them not to join labour unions. The unions have lost members as a result. Furthermore, an increasing number of employees are on part-time, temporary and contractual basis, making union organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. more difficult. At the Kenya Power and Lighting Company 5,000 of its 8,000 employees were employed on casual contracts. After a dispute erupted in September the company agreed to hire more workers on full time contracts.

Obstructing the right to strike: In practice, the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike is frequently violated in Kenya. During the notice period, the Minister of Labour generally intervenes and proposes a mediator for the dispute. If the negotiations break down, the government usually refers the matter to an industrial court, pre-empting any decision to take strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike action. In cases where workers have become frustrated with the lengthy process and have decided to go ahead with a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike , their action has usually been declared illegal. Employers won a court order declaring the tea pickers strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike illegal in October.

EPZ employers refuse to recognise unions: Although labour laws apply in the export processing zones (EPZ export processing zone A special industrial area in a country where imported materials are processed before being re-exported. Designed to attract mostly foreign investors by offering incentives such as exemptions from certain trade barriers, taxes, business regulations, and/or labour laws. ) most firms based in EPZ export processing zone A special industrial area in a country where imported materials are processed before being re-exported. Designed to attract mostly foreign investors by offering incentives such as exemptions from certain trade barriers, taxes, business regulations, and/or labour laws. s have refused to recognise trade unions and obstructed their efforts to organise workers. The Kenya Textile Workers’ Federation adds that getting workers to join a union is difficult because the managers at EPZ export processing zone A special industrial area in a country where imported materials are processed before being re-exported. Designed to attract mostly foreign investors by offering incentives such as exemptions from certain trade barriers, taxes, business regulations, and/or labour laws. companies use non-registered organisations to recruit casuals on their behalf.

Chinese construction company negotiating in bad faith:

Construction on the Thika Road Highway was disrupted on 23 August when 400 workers went on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike demanding better pay, working conditions and medical cover, an end to exploitation, long working hours and the illegal withholding of drivers licenses. The Kenya Building, Construction, Timber Furniture and Allied Industry Employees Union (KBCTFAIE) sought in vain to reach an amicable negotiated solution with the SINHYDRO corporation. According to the union, tri-partite negotiations failed because of the lack of good will on the part of the employer. Company management called in the police to disperse the workers who went on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike .

On 28 September the Industrial Court of Kenya ordered the SINHYDRO corporation to commence negotiation of a collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
agreement with KBCTFAIE to be concluded within 45 days.

Del Monte Kenya targets union activists for dismissal :

Forty workers were dismissed in retaliation for a week-long strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike at Fresh Del Monte’s fruit processing factory. Some 1,700 workers walked out on 12 October to protest unpaid allowances, increasing insecurity due to the widespread use of temporary work contracts and a deteriorating working environment which resulted, in what the Kenya Union of Commercial, Food and Allied Workers (KUCFAW) believe, was a work-related death.

The company obtained a court injunction injunction A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike. on 13 October calling for an end to the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike and a resumption of work. Workers returned to the factory to find a notice instructing them to reapply for their positions. They refused to do so under these circumstances, returning only on 19 October after the union and company reached an agreement under the auspices of the Industrial Court. This provided for a return to work under existing terms and conditions.

However, the agreement stipulated that disciplinary procedures would be applied to a group of workers alleged to have committed illegal acts during the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike . Del Monte Kenya management proceeded to dismiss 40 workers, including nearly every shop steward shop steward A union worker who represents the members of a union in dealings with the employer. Often elected by union members who work in the same establishment. . KUCFAW began procedures to contest the dismissals in the Industrial Court.

Striking tea workers face threats and intimidation:

On 18 October tea plantation employees went on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike over the increased use of machines for picking tea. Employers did not consult with workers prior to the increase, breaching an agreement with the Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers’ Union (KPAWU). The union feared machines would cost the jobs of 80,000 workers directly employed by the tea industry in Kenya and thousands indirectly employed. A new agreement was sought to specify the portion of tea that would be plucked by the machines and how much would be picked by workers.

At least two of the companies affected by the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike , the Williamson Tea Company and Tindirect Tea Company, hired new staff to replace those on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike . The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) reported that tea workers belonging to KPAWU were being subjected to arbitrary arrests, torture in police cells, and the harassment of trade unionists and their families. Companies sought to dissuade workers from striking by using various intimidatory tactics such as evicting striking staff from company houses and disconnecting water and electricity. By 26 October some KPAWU leaders had been held by the police for two weeks without charge.

The Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) initially obtained a court order barring tea plantation employees from striking, but this was later overruled by the Industrial Court further to an application by COTU and KPAWU. Employers still insisted the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike was illegal. The union called off the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike after two weeks to allow for negotiations with the tea multinationals over the use of machines.

Collective bargaining obstructed and strike blocked at post office:

On 30 November the Postal Corporation of Kenya won a temporary injunction injunction A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike. preventing members of the Communication Workers Union (COWU) from continuing a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike begun that day. COWU members were prohibited from taking industrial action industrial action Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer. for a period of 14 days and restrained from interfering with the operations of the postal corporation.

COWU had called its 4,000 members out on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike in face of the refusal by the corporation to start collective contract negotiations after several attempts by the union to get negotiations underway. The union was demanding a 48% pay rise. The Postal Corporation of Kenya had offered them a 2% increase. Other issues included the refusal to pay overtime, changes in the staff pension scheme and the union’s demand for the resignation of the head of the Human Resources department, whom they felt had frustrated their bargaining efforts.

The two sides agreed to resume negotiations in early 2011.