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{
    "id": 849365,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/849365/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 404,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 407,
        "legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
        "slug": "ledama-olekina"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to support the Statement by Sen. Sakaja on the issue of trade unions. From the onset, I am not sure whether I agree with my senior who is also one of the best former justices in terms of trade and labour laws, on the last comment that he made on having one collective bargaining agreement for all trade unions. It would be a violation of the Constitution which is very clear that every trade union, employers and organisations, have a right to engage in collective bargaining. If we limit this to one collective bargaining agreement for all the 47 counties, we will be violating the Constitution. That is a subject for judicial review. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, one thing is clear that in this country, it is imperative that all county governments must recognize trade unions. When I travelled to Maasai Mara Game Reserve last December, I met groups of young people and women, who were complaining that they had joined a trade union, but their employer was not recognizing its importance. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, when we were looking at the accounts of the 47 counties, we noted that there were a lot of challenges in terms of human resource management. It is imperative now that all counties must work with their County Public Service boards to recognize these trade unions. One of the recommendations that we will make from our findings, in terms of how county governments manage their human resource, is by referring them back to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) circular and the Public Finance Management (PFM) regulations, on limiting of wages and benefits as stipulated in sections 107(2) and 25 (a) and (b). Every person in this country has a right to form a trade union. We have many challenges in most county governments in terms of staff capacity because most of the employees were seconded to the county governments. These employees had their issues that they had agreed upon, but now they have to negotiate all their benefits. This issue runs across the 47 counties. When you look at their financial audit for Financial Years 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, all those human resource challenges still keep cropping up. It is a very uncomfortable situation for someone who does not know about their future upon retirement. This statement by Sen. Sakaja is quite timely. I am sure that most counties have gone to the extent of establishing public service boards. However, what is important is that these trade unions should also try to engage with these public service boards so that they can come up with proper legislation that will support these counties. Some of the challenges that affect these trade unions in Kenya include the issue of technology. Technology is now evolving so fast and some of these trade unionists are still depending on systems which are outdated. Another challenge is the mismanagement of funds in the trade unions. Most managers in these trade unions fight and this paves way for politicians to come in and politicize the management of these trade unions. Sometimes we would be blaming the The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}