No Pay, No Work: Looming crisis as county workers to down tools

Services across the 47 counties could be paralysed beginning next week after  county government workers on Tuesday threatened to down their tools over delayed salaries.

Four trade unions including Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Union (KMPDU), Kenya County Workers Union, the Union of the Kenya Civil Servants and the Kenya Union of Nurses have given county governments seven days to pay their members salaries failure to which they will withdraw their services.

“Beginning Tuesday, there will be a total paralysis because of a salary parade…all the workers…even some of those governors will not come to Nairobi because their drivers will be on strike…we are very organized this time round,” said KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Ouma Oluga.

According to the trade unions, none of the 47 counties have paid their workers last month’s salaries.

The trade unions maintain that any further delay of salaries will make workers undergo untold suffering as they will be unable to meet their basic needs.

“The purpose is to ensure sufficient pressure is build by the employees by the workers and the unions so that their demands for salaries is met,” said Kenya County Workers Union Secretary General Roba Duba.

“We cannot go and remove governors from their offices and thrown them out…what can we do? The only thing we can do is follow the law take an action that will make them wake up from the slumber land,” added Seth Panyako, the Secretary General of the nurses union.

But as workers issue a 7-day ultimatum, there is no sign of a white smoke from parliament over the Division of Revenue Bill with the situation being complicated by the fact that the National Assembly will be going on recess from Thursday and will be back in September.

It means the Senate has to consider the National Assembly’s version of the controversial Division of Revenue Bill that seeks to have counties allocated Ksh.316 billion, by Thursday.