• Bill was proposed last week by assembly.
• Have threatened to involve national office and Cotu to block it.
Image: CALISTUS LUCHETU
The Vihiga County Government Workers Union has threatened to block in court a bill seconding some assembly staff to the county executive departments.
Addressing the press, the union’s Chairman Patrick Muhindi said they will knock on every door and rally other workers unions, including the Central Organisation of Trade Unions, to ensure the bill proposed by the county assembly is dropped.
“We are strongly opposed to this bill and if things continue this way, we shall go to our national office as we continue fighting against it. It is out to intimidate workers of the assembly,” Muhindi said.
Last Wednesday, the Vihiga county assembly passed a bill requiring comprehensive staff rationalisation to curb redundancy and expenses resulting from a bloated workforce.
The staff has strongly opposed the bill, fearing it will have them fired. The county currently has about 110 workers against the 80 that are required.
The bill was tabled by Shamakhokho MCA Douglas Beru.
“The interest of the county in collaboration with the County Public Service Board to undertake the necessary identification and subsequent secondment of officers from the county assembly to the county executive departments,” the bill reads.
The union leaders say the bill is meant to counter the demands of the assembly employees seeking to know why money meant for car and mortgage loans, allegedly Sh6 million, is missing and why they haven’t received their last three months’ salary.
The employees through the union leaders said it is not a constitutional mandate of the assembly to look into the issues involving assembly employees. The assembly clerk and the county assembly service board are charged with that, they said.
“The reason why this bill has been rushed through the assembly is that we have been following up on some corruption issues with the administration who have now resorted to using MCAs through the assembly to stop us. This bill has been hastily drafted in order to silence us," secretary general Nelson Amudala said.
But we shall not relent because money in the mortgage fund has disappeared and we demand to know where it has gone, Amudala said.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)