The strike is on, and more that 15,000 City Hall workers will be out in the streets paralysing services in the city of Nairobi over delayed salary increments starting from today. The workers are demanding salary increment of between 15% and 20%contained in an agreement signed in May 2017 that City Hall had promised would be effected last month.
The county had last December agreed to increase salaries for all its workers under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in January but has since dragged feet in the move.
“It is our well-considered view that your office has not accorded the implementation of the new CBA the seriousness… Take further notice that the workers parade shall only be called off after full implementation of the new CBA,” reads part of the letter.
County Secretary Pauline Kahiga had not responded to our calls by the time of going to press. Past attempts to seek City Hall to honour the agreement last month have not been successful, reads the letter.
The CBA was registered last September, paving the way for workers from all cadres to get the 15 percent pay increment and bringing to an end a protracted negotiation that started in 2015.
Under the terms of the agreement, the pay rise was to take effect in 2017/2018 financial year, but that never happened even though the county set aside Sh800 million to cater for the CBA.
The workers would also get leave allowances, medical cover and other perks, monetary and non-monetary.
Last month, the workers also wrote to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to compel City Hall to update the salary increment in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Database system to avert the looming strike.
Delays in the implementation of the CBA further pushes back revision of terms for the former Nairobi City Council workers who transited to the county government.
At Ksh100 milion, the CBA is set to pile pressure on Nairobi County’s already under-performing revenue collection.
Nairobi, led by governor Mike Sonko, has struggled to meet its revenue targets since the onset of devolution in 2013 on weak systems, corruption and lack of resources to nab rate cheats.
City Hall raised Ksh10.2 billion in the year to June against a target of Ksh17.2 billion highlighting its pressure to deliver quality services like health to city residents.