Kenyans mark Labour Day at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, on May 1, 2019. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
It starts with song and dance.
The mood in
stadiums across the country is ecstatic. Workers from all walks of life
march into venues in matching attire, full of expectation.
The
day always comes to an end with the promise of a pay rise — at least
for the lowest paid employees — since it is the day the government
announces the new minimum wage.
But after the dark cloud of Covid-19 visited the country and the world, Kenya will today mark a Labour Day like no other.
For
the first time, most union officials were — by 4pm Thursday — still in
the dark, not knowing how the day would be marked. Normally, they would
have receive printed invitation cards well in advance.
Central
Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli,
who plays host to the event, said whereas all meetings had been put off,
he will be addressing workers through the media from his Solidarity
Building headquarters in Nairobi.
"All meetings have been put off, but we will be addressing
workers. All media houses will be at Solidarity Building," he told the Nation.
MOU SIGNED
In an earlier briefing, he said he had asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to grace the event as the guest of honour.
"We
have written to him, asking him to indicate a suitable venue for him to
address workers and employers. This is not happening just in Kenya, but
the world over. All activities have been put off, including the
International Labour Conference in Geneva because of this dangerous
virus,” he said.
The Federation of Kenya Employers chief executive Jacqueline Mugo was holed up in a meeting Thursday.
During
the meeting attended by Labour Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui, his
Principal Secretary Peter Tum and Cotu officials, led by Mr Atwoli, they
signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding on addressing effects
of Covid-19 on the labour and employment sector.
Without
giving details, Mr Chelugui said that the MoU covers agreements made
between the government, workers’ unions and employers’ representatives.
But
today, 18 million workers, who previously went to the fete with demands
for pay rises and better working conditions will be at pains.
THOUSANDS JOBLESS
They will mark the day praying and clinging onto hope that they will not be the next victims of job cuts.
A
report from the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection indicates that
the virus has already rendered at least 133,657 Kenyans jobless in the
last 50 days alone.
This number excludes employees who are on unpaid leave and those who have taken pay cuts.
A
majority of those affected are in the manufacturing sector, one of the
pillars of the Jubilee administration's Big Four Agenda, where 500
workers have been laid off. The security sector has sent home 300
workers.
The report notes that the numbers are likely
to rise because most companies are yet to notify the ministry of
redundancies as required under the Employment Act, 2017.
Before
the virus hit Kenya, several companies were already on this path. These
include Tuskys supermarket, which restructured its operations rendering
a number of staff jobless.
Shoprite supermarket also fired 104 staff after closing its Waterfront branch in Karen.
JOB CREATION
Other
firms that have announced retrenchment plans in the recent past include
Tullow Oil, Stanbic Bank, East African Portland Cement Company, Telkom
Kenya, betting firms Sportpesa and Betin, East African Breweries
Limited, Finlays, Sanlam Kenya (formerly Pan Africa Insurance Holdings)
and Mumias Sugar Company.
Other firms that retrenched
employees last year include the National Bank of Kenya, Standard
Chartered Bank, Barclays Bank and insurer Britam.
The firms sent home thousands of Kenyans. But when Covid 19 struck, things only moved from bad to worse.
The Economic Survey 2020
estimates that total employment, excluding those engaged in small-scale
farming and pastoralist activities, increased from 17.3 million in 2018
to 18.1 million in 2019.
The total number of new jobs
generated in the economy was 846,300, with the informal sector estimated
to have created the bulk of these new jobs.
The Central Bank of Kenya
on Thursday revealed that that debt-stressed borrowers approached banks
to have loans amounting to Sh9.9 billion restructured within two weeks
after it announced emergency measures to minimise the impact of Covid-19
pandemic last month.
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