Corrupt Government officials out to sabotage Cotu, claims Atwoli

By Benard Sanga

Mombasa, Kenya: Powerful forces in the Jubilee administration are behind the split of the country’s trade union movement to weaken its fight against graft in the workers’ pension scheme, the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) has claimed.

Cotu made the claims in Mombasa on the same day rival Federation of Public Service Trade Unions of Kenya (Pusetu) was unveiled in Nairobi.

Cotu alleged yesterday that the plot to form a second centre of trade unions was hatched after its opposition to the Sh5 billion Tassia upgrade project.

The organisation’s secretary general Francis Atwoli (pictured) said he raised the alarm over the project which had been awarded to China’s Jiangxi saying it was approved ‘illegally’.

“Tassia project scandal is an egg in the face of the Uhuru Kenyatta regime and though we know that the President is not corrupt, there are people in Government hell bent to make sure that they loot the poor workers’ money,” said Atwoli.

Atwoli asked the Public Investment Committee to make public the findings into the Tassia project to enable workers know those behind the irregular approval. He also appealed to Uhuru to come out and denounce schemes by “those out to fleece employees.”

He accused Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambi of agitating for the formation of another centre of trade unions instead of acting as an arbitrator on issues bound to affect employee welfare.

“The Government has remained mum as if they don’t know that a strong labour movement is good for economy growth,” said Atwoli at Whitesands Hotel, yesterday.

Retrogressive step

Addressing over 200 members of the Dock Workers Union (DWU) opposed to their secretary general’s move to take them to Pusetu, Atwoli blamed infighting in Jubilee for corruption in the Government.

He said the Labour Relations Act stipulates that the Government should work with the most representative central union and that with their 1.3 million membership, the Government had no option but to work with them.

Yesterday, the dock workers met in Mombasa to deliberate on legal action against their secretary general Simon Sang over his “retrogressive step of moving out of Cotu without members’ approval.”

The DWU members accused Sang of acting in contravention of the union’s constitution.

Atwoli yesterday said that he already secured Uhuru Park grounds for this year’s Labour Day celebrations and petitioned the Government to increase the minimum wage by 20 per cent.