Kenya County Government Workers Union (KCGWU) has accused a section of newly elected Governors of engaging in the unlawful sacking of County staff, to create room for illegal appointments aimed at rewarding their cronies.
Addressing journalists at a hotel in Nyali, Mombasa, the Union's General Secretary Roba Duba said to accomplish the ugly mission, the governors have adopted the give a dog a bad name and hang it approach- by unfairly branding targeted workers as “ghost workers.”
“The people they are referring to as ghost workers are not. If they are ghosts, then everybody else is a ghost because they have genuine letters of employment. The best way to prove whether there are ghost workers is by involving independent companies like PriceWaterhouseCoopers or KPMG which can conduct an objective audit. How do I become a ghost worker simply because the outgoing governor employed me? They just want to confuse the public so that they can win public sympathy” Duba noted: “They fear reprisals that’s why they do that. They look for certain terms which are ugly. They want to brand our people bad names.”
The union officials were addressing in Nyali some nine Kilometers west of Pride Inn Nyali where their bosses are attending the Governors and Deputy Governors Induction and where the above issues have featured prominently.
The secretary said the union will fight tooth and nail until the workers are recognized as bonafide employees and that they cannot be removed without the due process of the law.
“Every employment, including yours, and mine is protected under the employment act. Employees must be allowed to have peaceful enjoyment of their job. It doesn’t matter who comes and it doesn’t matter who went. This is the way that we must appreciate,” Duba reckoned.
He said it is alarming that some incoming governors have started their terms by issuing strong directives in the name of “executive orders” outside provisions of law, just to get their claws out.
“We acknowledge that the governors can give orders within the confines of their power provided under the county governments act. Anything in the name of executive orders outside the confined of the law will be illegal.
“For example, two governors all commit one offense. One governor on his way out employs staff three months before the elections and they know it is inappropriate. He doesn’t go through the County public service board and poor Kenyans will have no time to interrogate. An elected governor comes in and questions the recent employment and the workers are caught in between and are unlawfully sacked,” explained the unionist.
According to the general secretary, some of the outgoing governors in a bid to woo voters went on an employment spree, dishing out irregular employment letters for up to 700 people.
“This is a very unfortunate situation. One employs unlawfully and one sack unlawfully. We will not accept it. We want to warn the governors and their lawfully authorized agents like the County secretary and CPSB. Please don’t engage in illegality. You find people employed by your predecessors, respect them and ensure that they are on the payroll,” he said, adding that the union will fight to the death to ensure no worker is irregularly dismissed.
