- Sang said the Deputy President William Ruto's wing has shown all signs of undermining workers even before it clings to power.
- He said after analysing the main political parties in the country, the union settled on Azimio, which also enjoys President Uhuru Kenyatta's blessings.
Image: LABAN WALLOGA
The 7,000-strong Dock Workers Union has thrown its weight behind Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Alliance saying it is the best suited political outfit to deal with workers' issues.
The union's secretary general Simon Sang said Azimio’s presidential flagbearer Raila Odinga, has proven to be a defender of workers' issues.
He said after analysing the main political parties in the country, the union settled on Azimio which also enjoys President Uhuru Kenyatta's blessings.
"The Azimio captain is a reformist. He worked towards actualising many constitutional reforms, including the Constitution of Kenya 2010. Besides, his team has pro-labour individuals, who have helped Kenyan workers before in times of need," Sang said.
He drew parallels with Kenya Kwanza Alliance which support Deputy President William Ruto’s presidential bid.
The Ruto wing, Sang said, has shown all signs of undermining workers even before it clings to power.
"We saw what (Aden) Duale did a year ago. He sponsored a bill that sought to disallow workers from going on strike. Those are some of the indicators of who we can partner with," he said.
Duale, the Garissa Township MP, is a close ally of Ruto and a former leader of the majority of the National Assembly.
The bill which he had sponsored was shot down, to the relief of workers' unions.
DWU has also proposed to the Central Organisation of Trade Unions and the government several reforms that seek to bring about a better working environment for the workers in the country.
The recommendations, which are heavily borrowed from Singapore, will require political goodwill for their implementation, Sang said.
"We need political support and goodwill to see these reforms come into effect. In fact, we are negotiating with Azimio, Cotu, and the President to see some of these proposals brought to effect even before the August 9 general election," he said.
The Federation of Kenya Employers are supporting some of their proposals, especially the one requiring employees who earn less than 35,000 to not be subjected to the pay as you earn tax.
"We had talks with Azimio and the President about three weeks ago, and they promised to support us. We are also engaging the Azimio-allied MPs so that in the unlikely event Raila Odinga doesn't win, we shall have the MPs' support in Parliament," he said.
"It is a matter of scratch my back I scratch yours, and we would like to see them help us pass some of these recommendations even before elections."
At the same time, DWU has also declared its support for Mvita MP Sharrif Nassir gubernatorial bid in Mombasa county.
Nassir, who is the chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee in the National Assembly, has helped the dock workers before, the union boss said.
"Nassir operates like former president Kibaki. He is professional and listens to us. We are supporting him fully because he has come to our aid in times of need in the past," he said.
Sang said the Mvita MP helped the dock workers when the Salaries and Remuneration Commission wanted to regulate the dock workers' pay.
Nassir presented the matter in the National Assembly, and the commission's plans were thwarted, Sang said.
"SRC by law, is mandated to regulate salaries for civil servants, and only to advise state corporations in remuneration issues, not to regulate our salaries,” he said.