A fierce standoff has erupted between the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) and the Ministry of Labour over plans to send home hundreds of workers in four state-owned sugar mills.
Confidential letters exchanged between government ministries, COTU and the management of Nzoia, South Nyanza (SONY), Chemelil and Muhoroni sugar companies reveal deep divisions on how the cash-strapped factories should be restructured.
In an August 12 letter seen by The Star, Agriculture Principal Secretary Kiprono Ronoh directed the millers’ bosses to issue formal redundancy notices to employees as part of a government leasing programme.
The PS instructed that the notices must outline termination reasons, worker entitlements under the Employment Act and existing CBAs, and be copied to County Labour Officers. Employees were also assured of full payment of dues.
“The notices must be in writing and clearly state the reason for termination. They must outline the employees' entitlements under the Employment Act, 2007, and the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs). A copy of the notice must be sent to the County Labour Officer,” read the letter by the Agriculture PS to the bosses of the sugar mills.
He further adds:
“Employees must be informed that all their dues and lawful entitlements will be paid in full.”
However, in a separate letter, the Ministry of Labour later moved to cushion the fallout, writing to COTU on September 1 seeking nomination of an officer to a tripartite committee on the redundancies.
The committee, involving government, employers, and workers’ representatives, was tasked with reviewing the legality of the layoffs, ensuring compliance with labour standards, and managing the transition of affected staff.
But COTU, in a strongly worded response dated October 3, flatly rejected the invitation.
Secretary General Francis Atwoli accused the Labour Ministry of abandoning its core mandate of job creation and siding with employers to push for job cuts.
“It is deeply concerning that the Ministry, whose central mandate is employment creation, would convene a meeting to discuss redundancy at a time when the unemployment crisis in our country is acute,” said COTU boss in the response.
“We are not prepared, now or in the future, to participate in any meeting chaired by the Ministry to discuss how to declare workers redundant.”
Atwoli instead demanded fresh talks on strategies to expand employment opportunities, insisting that the controversial redundancy clause—introduced into law in 1994 under pressure from the World Bank and IMF—was outdated and should be repealed.
“As COTU we believe that it is through the Ministry of Labour that we can collectively support the President in generating meaningful employment, particularly for the growing number of young people leaving institutions of learning in search of work,” added Atwoli.
The clash now threatens to derail the government’s restructuring plan for the ailing sugar sector, which has been plagued by debt, mismanagement, and collapsing production.
For years, successive administrations have struggled to turn around the once-vibrant mills that support thousands of households across Western Kenya.
Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua is yet to publicly respond to COTU’s rejection, but the fallout points to deep cracks in the state’s sugar reform strategy and sets up a political showdown with Kenya’s most powerful workers’ union.
