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{
    "id": 133992,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/133992/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 471,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "August 18, 2009 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2693 Mr. M’Mithiaru",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I also rise to support the Motion for the Vote of the Ministry of Labour. This Ministry, with its financial constraints, has done a commendable job. First, I know that for the last few years, they have been trying to codify the very many laws of labour into some simpler documents. I am sure that this is ongoing. I also know that they have brought up issues like we hear of today, the paternal leave, which came from the Ministry. The Ministry should courageously implement the laws which have been passed by this House without any recourse at all unless amended. Let me also commend the Ministry for the harmonious industrial relations that prevail in the country today. However, I will be quick to say that the harmony we are experiencing does not mean that things are very good. The problem is that we are in what we call an employer’s market. There is mass and acute unemployment and, therefore, our youth and all those people who are leaving school have no work to do and whatever little job they get is what they go into. The conditions are terrible, the pay is terrible but because they need to get the daily bread, they have to abide by the very harsh conditions that there are. We know that there are minimum wages and conducive environment to work under. However, people persevere because they need daily bread. Out of that, we hear of people getting stressed at the places of work and others getting sick because of the unhealthy conditions that they work under. This is the area that the Ministry should have enough funds to deal with. All these things would not be happening if the Ministry was able to employ many labour officers who can visit places of work and ensure that in various work areas, workers are under the required environment and that the pay they get is in accordance with the minimum wages and all that. Since there are no funds for labour officers to visit all these places, you will find that people have no recourse because going on strike would also mean that they would not have bread for that day. I am just from Mombasa and there are some employees who have been working for the last six months without pay. They are now in the streets. For those who read today’s paper, you must have seen that one of them collapsed because of hunger. This is because of the harsh conditions that I have just talked about. It is also because the Ministry of Labour is not empowered to ensure that they can monitor what is happening in each and every work place. This Ministry is called the Ministry of Labour. We know that in any firm, as long as you are not talking about human resource development, then you are not in business. I am sure that if we can empower this Ministry and ensure that the human resource development aspect of it is taken care of, then in terms of productivity and development of this country we will see what we have not seen before in terms of development. With those few remarks, I support."
}