Fate of more than 250 unpaid staff in Kisii moves to the Labour court

A petition has been filed before the Labour and Relations Court to have more than 250 individuals employed by the Kisii county government in July and August 2022 admitted into the payroll.

A resident of Kisii county, Vincent Omaa, filed the case in the public interest and defence of the constitution.

Omao says there has been an alleged violation and infringement of the fair administrative action Act, 2015, a violation and infringement of the rights and freedoms, and the matter of the public finance management Act, 2012.

The county government of Kisii, Governor Simba Arati, Kisii County Public Service Board and the County Secretary have been named as the respondents.

The petitioner argues that the first and third respondents did recruit county employees in various departments; ECD teachers, Youth Polytechnic Instructors, workers in the department of Water, Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources as well as workers in the departments of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.

"Despite being recruited, the said employees are yet to be included in the payroll," Omao says.

An advert for the recruitment of ECD teachers was published on December 10, 2021, and interviews were conducted in February 2022.

Successful applicants were appointed in April 2022, and have been working without pay since then.

After working for eight months, the affected staff have never been included or admitted into the payroll system.

The petitioner further argues that the county government and the board did promote various county government employees in various cadres and have since failed to effect the same on the payroll.

"The third respondent did irregularly and unprocedural appoint the Governor's Service Delivery Unit employees without the due procedure of the law, no advertisement and interviews were carried out."

He said the board is discharging its mandate blindly, and without human resource policies and procedures.

"The petition is a cry for the restoration of sanity in the administration of justice and in particular, respect for the rule of law, national values and good governance."

The petitioner prays an order to be issued to the respondents to add the unpaid staff into the payroll systems immediately, that the recruitment of the chief officers and the Governors' Service Delivery Unity by the first and third respondents was irregular and an order be made revoking the said appointments.

Last month, Governor Arati launched what he called an official Human Resource Audit Report.

The report that is yet to be made public alleged there were more than 1,500 ghost workers on the county payroll.

On March 21, the Senate wrote to the governor requesting a comprehensive response on the number of permanent employees, casual workers, and contractual staff as well as whether any ECD and vocational trainers were owed salary arrears.

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