Employers take NSSF war to International Labour Organisation

The proposal by Government to remove Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) and Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) representatives from the National Social Security Fund board has now been taken before the International Labour Organisation.

Jacqueline Mugo, the FKE executive director, told a packed 107th ILO conference in Geneva that a proposal by Kenya’s National Assembly to remove both employers and workers' representatives from the board was in bad faith.

She said the tripartite nature of labour institutions should be respected, adding that the Government’s move was ill-advised.

She called on the Government to promote and strengthen both formal and informal social dialogue instead of fighting employers and workers at NSSF as she asked the ILO to intervene.

“Efforts by some governments to oust social partners from tripartite labour sector institutions such as social security boards, where they play a key role in driving changes to improve the work conditions, is ill-advised and counter-productive,” said Ms Mugo, who is also the secretary general of Business Africa.