Public servants have declared a stance against a declaration by Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria to employ government officials on contractual terms.
Public service unions, through a joint statement on Monday, April 29, 2024, termed the pronouncement by Kuria as reckless.
The unions include the Union of Kenya Civil Servants (UKCS), Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU), Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers Union (KUPPET), Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists & Dentists Union (KMPDU), Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO), Dock Workers Union (DWU), Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) and others.
"As you may have witnessed, the government has lately been making reckless pronouncements touching on public servants. The pronouncements which inter alia include; casualization of labour, high taxation, violation of signed collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) and the emasculation of trade unions threaten to decimate the entire public service," the statement read in part.
"A few days ago, the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service (Moses Kuria) made a pronouncement on the intention to convert public service workers from permanent terms to contractual terms of employment. This is in total disregard to laws governing the labour industry, the Kenya Constitution 2010 and international labour treaties and conventions which the country is a signatory."
The unions have also accused the government of threatening union leaders, threatening to withdraw union dues and generally making the work environment toxic.
"Trade Unions are formed by workers to protect their rights and interests in the work place. They are recognized and protected in our supreme law of the land. The government must stop threatening union leaders, threatening to withdraw union dues and generally making work environment toxic. The over one million strong public servants deserve better treatment by the government," the statement added.
"Workers are not ready to pander to the whims of an insensitive government that has a cavalier attitude towards its own employees, whose statements do not inspire hope among workers, respect no law nor structures and instead inciting workers to down their tools."
The servants say the utterances are likely to cause unnecessary panic, anxiety, low morale and reduced productivity in the public service sector.
"The pronouncements are an affront and a direct attack on labour. While they not only blatantly violate the Constitution of Kenya and disregard tenets of tripartism and social dialogue, they also violate rights of workers. These reckless utterances are likely to cause unnecessary panic, anxiety, low morale and reduced productivity in the public service sector. It is the Public Servants that are charged with the responsibility of implementing the government's programs and policies," they added.
"Any attempts to convert permanent and pensionable terms to contracts, bastardize mutually agreed CBAs will be resisted at all costs."
Public servants' demands
The unions are now demanding that the government stops issuing unilateral threats to public servants and engage union leadership in constructive social dialogue and that the government respects the mutually signed CBAs starting with the doctors' 2017/2021 CBA.
They also want the government to respect employment contracts entered into by public servants on permanent and pensionable terms.
The unions have urged their members to join demonstrations every Tuesday until the government complies with their.
The unions have decried the introduction of new taxes including the housing levy at 1.5 per cent and increased NHIF(SHIF) from a maximum of Ksh1,700 to 2.75 per cent of gross pay.
"The result of this action is that workers have been rendered destitute. The government has also increased taxation on Pay As You Earn (PAYE) from 30% to 35% on gross pay. It is unfair to base taxation on gross pay part of which is a reimbursement for costs incurred by workers e.g. house allowance," the statement added.
