COTU boss and Trade unionist Francis Atwoli has faulted the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) over what he has termed as “provocative attempts aimed at interfering with freely negotiated Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs)” against the national constitution.
“This bad mannerism, that is in character with many government institutions, whereby public participation is done as a constitutional formality rather than for purposes of collecting the views of the public and other contributors, should be a matter of great national concern if the provision of Public Participation is to be taken seriously,” Atwoli said in a statement on Monday.
Atwoli rejected the move by the SRC to proceed with the proposed Remuneration and Benefits of State and Other Public Officers Regulations 2022, which provide for a 4-year review cycle among other guidelines.
Under the new regulations tabled before Parliament, public servants will have their salaries and allowances automatically reviewed every four years to match the cost of living.
The cost of living measure will be based on the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) issued by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
Currently, there are no timelines for reviewing pay for officers including teachers, lecturers, doctors and nurses.
“The commission shall undertake the review taking into account the applicable national budgeting and planning cycles,” reads part of the proposed regulations.
Atwoli stated that the International Labour Organization, ILO, Convention 95 of 1949 is very clear on the protection of wages for every individual.
“Having joined other key partners in giving our written submissions, as attached, and also participating in the key partners engagement meetings on Friday, 4 March 2022, we would like to, first, call out SRC for engaging the public and key partners in collecting their views, on the said regulation, only for them to completely disregard the concerns and comments of the parties involved,” Atwoli said.
Atwoli said the right to a free and fair remuneration, including the right to Collective Bargaining, can never be a reserve of government through anybody.
“The role of the government ends with setting the minimum wage while the rest is left to employers, individual workers and Trade Unions. The move by SRC, as such, negates the principle of the ILO on the Right to Collective Bargaining,” Atwoli said.
“If the Commission does not revert to its advisory role, as stipulated in the constitution, then, COTU (K), will be forced to move to court to seek a Constitutional interpretation of the mandate of the SRC vis-à-vis the constitutional provisions under article 41,” he added.
He pointed out that the umbrella workers’ body will not sit back and watch SRC continue to deny Kenyan workers their rights to fair remuneration.
Atwoli warned that failure to tame SRC powers could lead to the isolation of Kenya from the community of nations.
“If SRC is not tamed, Kenya will be cited by the ILO for interfering with the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work which Kenya has committed to respect and protect. ILO, being a UN agency, will further escalate this matter within the UN and thus making Kenya face various sanctions globally and, equally, be named among the countries frustrating Fair and Free Collective Bargaining Negotiations among workers,” he added.
Atwoli asked Kenyans to join COTU in condemning the move by SRC which he termed as unacceptable noting that negotiations are based on the willingness of either party, notably the employer, and cannot be subject to what he described as “strong-arm tactics by busybodies like SRC.”