Striking Mombasa workers to sue Municipal Council

KLGWU Mombasa Branch Suleiman Mohammed (right) addressing Mombasa Municipal Council workers outside the Town Hall over salary arrears on March 18, 2013. Photo/GIDEON MAUNDU NATION MEDIA GROUP

Some 2,600 striking Mombasa Municipal Council workers have opted to sue their employer over a two-month salary arrears dispute of Sh220 million. The Kenya Local Government Workers Union (KLGWU) Mombasa County Branch Secretary Rashid Muteti on Monday said the union had directed its lawyers to sue the council over non-payment of the workers’ salaries. He said that although the workers began their strike last Thursday to force the Treasury to disburse the Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF) cash totaling Sh700 million, nothing had materialized.

Mr. Muteti also noted that some workers had been locked out of their rental houses for failing to pay rent. He also said that some children of the workers had been sent back home over school fees arrears while other families were starving for lack of food. “Council workers are going through hell due to the failure to clear their two months’ salary arrears,” he said adding that some workers had been divorced by their spouses for failing to fend for their families.

“Despite the fact that workers are on strike, the union has resolved to take the council to court to demand immediate payment of the salary arrears,” he added. Mr. Muteti said although the council was yet to receive the LATF cash from the Treasury, it collected a revenue of Sh500 million between January and last month. “The non-payment of LATF by the Treasury is not an excuse for the council to fail to pay workers their dues since it collects revenue from taxpayers daily,” he said.

However, Mombasa County Town Clerk Mr. Tubmun Otieno said the workers would receive their salary arrears on Tuesday. Mr. Otieno said the Treasury was expected to disburse an unspecified amount of LATF funds on Monday to facilitate the payment of workers' salary arrears. He said the salary arrears would be deposited in the accounts of each worker by Tuesday afternoon. “The council workers will receive their salary arrears totaling Sh200 million after the Treasury promised to disburse the LATF cash,” he said.

“I cannot tell how much money has been remitted to the council by the Treasury. However, we shall be able to settle the wage dispute,” he added. Mr. Otieno also said that he had briefed the union officials over the matter and prevailed upon them to call off the strike. However, the union officials have vowed to continue with the strike until the workers get their salary arrears on Tuesday as promised.

 Courtesy Nation Media