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Kenya: New Laws to Benefit Workers 'If Enforced'
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The Nation (Nairobi)
2 May 2008
Posted to the web 1 May 2008
Anthony Kitimo And Sollo Kiragu
Nairobi
The new labour laws will improve the working environment for employees once they are enforced, a senior Labour ministry official said in Mombasa on Thursday.
Coast provincial labour officer Francis Okello urged both employers and workers to embrace the new laws.
"We are in the transition process from the old labour laws which have not been reviewed since independence to the new ones which were introduced last year," Mr Okello told a news conference in Mombasa.
He urged all those opposing the laws to pinpoint the sections they objected to.
Insurance
According to him, most employers appeared to have an issue with the Workmen's Compensation Act which came into force on December 20, last year.
Among other things, the Act requires employers to take insurance policies against injuries for all their employees.
"Most labour related cases have been withdrawn from courts because the new laws require the formation of labour courts countrywide to deal with labour issues," Mr Okello said.
He urged employers, workers' unions and the Government to agree on how to implement the new laws.
Under the new laws, men will get 14 days paternity leave while women are entitled to three months maternity leave. Coast Cotu chairman Livingstone Abuta lamented that child labour was still widespread in the province.
On Thursday, Kenya Tea Growers' Association raised concern over the new laws, terming them punitive to the employers. Officials said the laws posed a threat to the tea industry.
Unfriendly
Outgoing chairman Titus Korir appealed to Labour minister John Munyes to seek dialogue on the new laws with a view to reversing some of the clauses which he said were unfriendly to employers.
Mr Korir said the Work Injury Benefits Act would drastically increase insurance premiums for employers.
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He said that although the new laws were meant to benefit workers, the compliance and penalties should not be liabilities that could drive some employers out of businesses.
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