Some present-day Kenyan leaders seem oblivious to the courageous role played by the country’s labour movement in the quest for social justice, industrial harmony and peaceful co-existence.
Despite stiff opposition to the 2010 draft constitution by William Ruto and yesteryear allies, the national labour centre came out strongly to support the promulgation of a law whose delivery had been elusive in the hands of selfish political leaders.
Similarly, the history of freedom struggle against colonial rule will be incomplete without reference to the clandestine support the trade union organisation offered and the role it played in a country where political activities were banned.
Thankless is the word to use when reference is made to the paradoxical beneficiaries of the progressive Constitution they vehemently opposed in the referendum. One such is none other than Ruto who could not, under the old constitution, dare hurl insults at the president and survive a purge and unspeakable actions.
But Kenyans stand in awe and wonder where Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi got the courage to hurl insults at the Central Organisation of Trade Unions leadership in a political gathering in which Ruto, a presidential candidate on the United Democratic Alliance ticket, was the chief guest. Mudavadi said the workers' outfit is led by clowns.
Mudavadi bitterness against Cotu secretary general Francis Atwoli is understandable as it stems from the renouncing of the community's support when it became apparent that the ANC chief was flirting with Ruto on a gamble for the former western province presidential votes.
The attack on the labour movement, a yesteryear ally in the country’s liberation struggle, is not new or strange. More often than not, the national labour centre, a whistleblower against the plunder of workers' savings, has been turned into a punching bag by political novices yearning for media headlines.
But one thing is for certain, the trade union movement does not subscribe to the class war launched by Ruto and the likes of Mudavadi but will forever remain a steadfast defender of rights in situations where injustices are the norm rather than the exception.
Days when the trade union movement was an accomplice in dictatorship are long gone and buried with the old constitution.
