Trade unions fire now cold impotent ash
Cotu Secretary-General Francis Atwoli during a shop stewards meeting at Solidarity Building in Nairobi on April 29, 2023.
It is 89 years since the first trade union was formed in Kenya. This was the Indian Trade Union that started in 1934.
As Kenya inches closer to marking 90 years of unionism next year and ahead of Labour Day celebrations tomorrow, one wonders what Makhan Singh – the first secretary of the pioneer trade union – would make of the state of Kenya’s labour organisations if he were to resurrect. Singh died in May 1973.
As a man who took on the British colonial government alongside the likes of Fred Kubai, would Singh balk at the current situation where most trade unions are bending over backwards to be in the good books of the government?
Would he be accommodative of the notion that trade unions throughout history have had to take a stand on political matters in one way or another?
Would Singh and Kubai say there haven’t been enough strikes in Kenya in recent years?
If Singh were to speak to Mr Charles Omanga, the legal officer of the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) – an organisation formed under the watch of President Jomo Kenyatta in 1964 to deal with fights within the umbrella body for trade unions – he would admit that the unions are less combative than in the past.
Speaking to the Sunday Nation on Friday, Mr Omanga admitted that labour unions – more so those with membership from the civil service – are not as fiery and robust as they used to be years ago.
He added that several factors have contributed to the organisations being reduced to their current state.
One, he said, is that the administration of President Uhuru Kenyatta was “friendly” to the unions.
“The last government was quick to always extend an olive branch to trade unions and called them to meetings many times. This strategy made several unions complacent,” Mr Omanga said.
Whether the “friendship” has borne fruit is debatable as the government appears to have engaged the promises galore gear.
Different Cotu members, including the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union, the Kenya National Union of Nurses and the Kenya National Union of Teachers signed pacts with the government that have not been fully honoured.
Covid-19 cast a pall on the state of the country’s economy.
There appeared to be a hush-hush agreement between unions and employers that the pandemic had affected everyone and everything, including state coffers and as such, boardroom dialogue was the best way forward.
“The other thing is that some union members felt that their needs were not being met and opted out, effectively reducing the bargaining power of the unions,” Mr Omanga said.
The lawyer defended Cotu, which has 43 unions under its wings.
Grow influence
He said that being an umbrella organisation, Cotu has allowed individual unions to grow their influence and once strong enough, defend themselves on their own.
“It is Cotu’s view that the unions engage through their leadership. Cotu will only come in when the union cannot find a solution by itself,” Mr Omanga added.
The Sunday Nation also sought the opinion of Justice Byram Ongaya – the principal judge of the Employment and Labour Relations Court since October last year – on his thoughts about Kenya’s trade movement.
The court, created by the 2010 Constitution, is deeply involved in the activities of trade unions, workers and employers.
It presides over the institutionalising collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) between unions and employers, handles disputes within trade unions, and tackles suits filed by the unions on behalf of members, among other functions.
“Trade unions have performed well in terms of representing their members in court, particularly in enforcing the terms and conditions of service usually as set out in the CBAs,” the judge said on Thursday.
“Secondly, trade unions have intensified their role by reaching every employer’s doorstep.”
Justice Ongaya said he has noted a certain kind of aggression from trade unions as they endeavour to register as many members as possible.
“The trade unions have performed exceptionally well in that regard. If employers are not cooperative in recognising trade unions, the court has ensured that appropriate orders are made,” the judge said.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court has also handled cases involving disputes among trade unions.
“A giant employer like the Teachers Service Commission has not less than four unions it has to recognise. Universities have many unions too and there are several still at their doorsteps. The question then arises: To what extent should the court allow registration of more trade unions? The traditional trade unionism principle was: one sector, one union. But that is in competition with the freedom to associate,” Justice Ongaya told the Sunday Nation.
Handcart pushers march during the 54th anniversary of Central Organization of Trade Unions of Kenya and International Labour day celebrations held at Uhuru Park on May 1, 2019.
“There is rivalry between trade unions of one sector and on the other hand and recognition of the freedom to associate, which then gives employees a chance to choose their union even within the sector.”
And where does Justice Ongaya think trade unions in Kenya need to improve?
“The unions can do a lot in terms of obeying their constitutions. A trade union is a self-regulating institution,” he said.
“They can consistently look at the constitutions, look at the ever-changing workplace and enhance their internal governance systems. The trade unions should put in place systems that enhance their roles so that governance disputes do not arise. They should comply with their own constitutions: call annual general meetings, make returns and carry out elections in accordance with their constitutions so that they are well-governed.”
Justice Ongaya thinks trade unions can do better with the people they employ.
“We have also started dealing with situations where individuals hired by trade unions are filing cases against their employers. Because of this, we encourage trade unions to walk the talk. They should do what they demand from other employers. That is one area trade unions can do well,” Justice Ongaya said.
In 2018, an article appeared in the Sunday Nation about a union whose employees were complaining about their statutory deductions not being remitted to the National Social Security Fund, National Health Insurance Fund and other agencies.
A 2016 study by trade union practitioner Owidhi George Otieno and published by the Africa Labour, Research and Education Institute, found a number of problems with the organisations and made recommendations.
Mr Owidhi interviewed 14 secretaries-general of unions affiliated with Cotu.
Victimisation
Among the areas found wanting and needing improvement was the fact that most Kenyan workers fear being victimised if they join unions, leading to lower-than-expected membership.
“Several multinational as well as private sector employers are against unionisation of their employees,” Mr Owidhi noted in the report titled Assessment of the State of Trade Unions in Kenya.
“Trade unions should mount strategic campaigns to increase membership. Such campaigns should as well discourage any splinter trade union groupings and gender discrimination as well as encourage youth participation in trade union matters,” he said.
The report also found that most unions face financial and human resource shortages, thus limiting their effectiveness.
“The main source of trade union income, according to the study, was union contributions. That forms almost 100 per cent of total revenue. Such dues are collected through the check-off system,” Mr Owidhi’s report said.
“However, monitoring of the systems is sometimes difficult when employers either desist from collecting union dues, collect but fail to remit the money or terminate some workers without noting the union. In such cases, the unions incur a lot of costs in follow-ups”.
Kenya’s trade union history is long and winding.
Starting from Singh’ activities in the 1930s, the movement grew in leaps and bounds and so were the methods of agitating for better pay and working conditions.
The labour movement is joined at the hip with politics in Kenya.
That is why figures like Tom Mboya, Boy Juma Boy, Dennis Akumu, Joseph Mugalla and Francis Atwoli have often not been too far from the chronicles of the political events.
When Kenya was a one-party state, for instance, Cotu was part of the ruling party Kanu.
As Kenyans sought a break from the Kanu power monopoly, Cotu supported the coalition that defeated the ruling outfit in 2002.
Years earlier during the agitation for independence, the Kenya Federation of Labour – Cotu's predecessor – was deeply involved in the struggle.
According to Mr Omanga, one of the challenges facing unions is the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) “which always guns down Cotu’s proposals to increase employees’ pay”.
“Employers’ focus is maximising profits. They keep rejecting proposals that touch on improving the workers’ welfare and pay,” Mr Omanga said.
“The attitude of forgetting the people bringing them profits should end.”
As Kenyans mark Labour Day, eyes will be on President William Ruto.
With Cotu Secretary-General Atwoli now backing Dr Ruto, an about-turn from the harsh criticism he spewed during the campaigns last year – and with the country’s economy in the doldrums, it remains to be seen what tone Dr Ruto will strike regarding Kenya’s labour set up.
