Kenya Power, Kenya Railways lead in public sector hiring of casual workers

Kenya Power and the Kenya Railways Corporation are leading the way in employing casual workers in the government sector, with the two institutions together accounting for 80.3 per cent of all casual workers hired in 2023.

A recent survey by the Public Service Commission (PSC) reveals that a large portion of the 84,609 casual workers employed last year was engaged by these two state-owned companies, which continue to rely heavily on temporary labour for their repair and rehabilitation projects.

The law prohibits public institutions from employing casual workers, instead encouraging the use of contracted service providers.

However, the PSC survey indicates that public institutions are still heavily reliant on casual labour, with nearly half (48.3 per cent) of government bodies reporting the hiring of casual workers. Despite this, some institutions appear to be skirting the rules.

For instance, some have submitted lists of casual workers even though they claimed not to have hired any, raising concerns about the true scale of casual employment within the public sector.

According to the PSC findings, the total number of casual workers employed by state corporations and semi-autonomous government agencies (SAGAs) was 76,925, making up 90.9 per cent of the total.

Public universities and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions followed with smaller numbers: 4,807 (5.7 per cent) and 1,367 (1.6 per cent) casuals, respectively.

The survey highlights that Kenya Power employed 53,436 casual workers (63.42 per cent of the total), while Kenya Railways hired 14,465 (17.17 per cent).

In total, the PSC's survey identified 259 institutions that employed casual workers, although discrepancies were found in the submitted data.

Some institutions, like South-Eastern Kenya University and Kisii National Polytechnic, submitted lists of casual workers despite claiming not to have employed any under casual terms.

The survey also reveals an alarming trend of salary payments being made outside official payroll systems.

Of the 2,076 workers reported as being paid outside of the payroll, 62 institutions were involved.

The lack of accountability in these transactions is a significant concern, with 80.2 per cent of the workers not being accounted for in the staff bio-data.

The PSC has urged public institutions to comply with a ruling from the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which mandates the use of contracted service providers instead of casual workers where necessary.

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