Nyeri County workers strike over unpaid leave dues

NYERI COUNTY: County staff have gone on strike over what they claimed as unpaid 'off days' dating back to 1999.

Kenya County Government Workers Union (KCGWU) members in Nyeri staged their protests at the governor's offices demanding more than Sh50 million in unpaid off days for over 580 workers.

KCGWU Nyeri Chapter Chairman Joseph Kinyua said the workers would not go back to work until their demands were met and their dues paid.

"We have over 580 workers demanding their off days pay; some of them have not been paid since 1999. We were recognised by the former local authorities and we expect the county government to honour their obligations to us," he said.

Public Administration and Communications Chief Officer Alice Wachira told workers the county government was trying to address the matter, which was inherited from the defunct local authorities.

Ms Wachira said the county government was trying to handle the matter using official channels to identify whether the dues were covered under the assets and liabilities inherited from the local authorities.

PERMANENT JOBS

"We must verify the workers' demands for payment because some are claiming to have accumulated leave days of up to 11 years," she said.

Mr Kinyua said the union also represents an additional 200 casual labourers who had worked for more than six years and were yet to be confirmed as permanent employees.

"These casual workers have been suffering because they have been working for years with no signs that the county government will give them permanent jobs," Kinyua said.

According to the union officials, the casual workers had not been paid for three months yet the county government had recruited more casual labourers.

"These workers have been unpaid yet they collect about Sh20,000 per day for the county government and their wages are less than Sh10,000 per month," Kinyua said.

David Kamau, one of the casual labourers, said some had been transferred without formal letters confirming their transfer orders while others had to commute every day yet they had not been paid.

He said the workers were frustrated because efforts to get permanent employment had been futile yet they were involved in the biometric registration exercise.

Wachira would not comment on the casual labourers' issue, saying the matter was in court.