County government workers call off strike to allow for negotiations

County government workers have called off their planned strike after a consultative meeting with key stakeholders on Friday.

The meeting, which aimed to resolve the grievances of the workers, brought together representatives from the Kenya County Government Workers Union (KCGWU), the County Public Service Board Consultative Forum, the Council of Governors, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the State Department for Public Service, the State Department for Labour, and the Inter-Governmental Relations Technical Committee.

The stakeholders agreed to form two multi-agency technical committees to address the concerns raised by county workers, particularly regarding pay and the remittance of statutory deductions.

The committees are expected to submit their report within 30 days.

"After deliberations, we have agreed to call off the strike to give dialogue a chance," said KCGWU Secretary-General Roba Duba.

Duba noted that the issues affecting county workers have persisted since the beginning of devolution.

"Some people took on devolution reluctantly. We have tried even to seek a basic audience and it has not been easy," he added.

The union had earlier announced plans for a nationwide strike, which was to begin next week on Tuesday, September 24, following a resolution by its top decision-making organ. The strike was meant to address long-standing grievances among county workers.

KCGWU members include essential service providers such as firemen, sewer workers, garbage collectors, revenue clerks, parking attendants, Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers, TVET instructors, enforcement officers, mortuary attendants, and ambulance personnel.

The union claims that recent salary adjustments have unfairly favoured national government employees, leaving out county workers.

Although the state recently awarded pay raises to police officers, teachers, and other national government employees to prevent strikes, the union argues this move was discriminatory.

The union further claimed that its members were excluded from the first phase of salary adjustments, where all public servants were supposed to receive a salary increase of between seven and 10 per cent.

In addition to pay issues, the union also demanded the payment of overdue statutory deductions.

Duba revealed that the pension debt, owed to the Local Provident Fund (Lapfund) and County Pension Fund (CPF)/Laptrust, has reached Sh60 billion.

The non-payment of pensions has left many retired workers in financial hardships.