Kenya’s public sector trade unions on Sunday slammed the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) for slashing their allowances.
Dr. Davji Bhimji Secretary General of the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) said that the SRC has become an impediment to the continuous social dialogue between workers and the employers.
“The SRC deliberately frustrates and suffocates collective bargaining process by issuing unrealistic advisories that not only render negotiation a public relation exercise but also veto mutually agreed agreements between social partners,” Bhimji said.
Bhimji joined other General Secretaries of Public Sector trade unions to strongly condemn constant interference in collective bargaining process and mutilation of successfully concluded collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) by the SRC.
Charles Mukhwaya, the Secretary General of the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) said that the Constitution of Kenya, Article 41 (5) provides that every worker has a right to Collective Bargaining without any limits as is the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 87 and 98 which Kenya Government subscribes to giving every worker the Right to Collective Bargaining.
“However, since its inception, SRC frustrates, stifles or even blocks this right by barring negotiations on fiscal aspects of CBAs. Thus it frustrates workers while also tying the hands of employers who are willing and ready to engage with the unions,” he added.