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City Hall promotes more than 6,000 workers


City Hall has promoted more than 6, 000 of its employees after months of tussling with the workers’ Union over the same.

The Union, Kenya County Government Workers Union, had on several occasions raised concerns with the county government over promotion and re-designation of its members, timely payments of salaries and retirement benefits, among other grievances.

On Tuesday, however, the two parties finally struck a deal seeing the promotion of 6, 279 workers who had been stuck in one job cadre for the last 20 years.

Nairobi County government has 11,334 workers with 6,852 redeployed to the Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS).

Nairobi County Public Service Board acting chairman Thomas Kasoa said the beneficiaries of the promotions are lower cadre employees drawn from all sectors, including those seconded to the NMS. The promotions will take effect from January 2, 2020.

“Section 63 (1) of the County Government Act, 2012, the County Public Service Board is mandated to make appointments including promotions in respect of the offices in the county public service,” said Mr Kasoa.

Re-designated and promoted

Out of the 6, 279 officers, 47 are retirees while 391 have been re-designated and promoted drawn from different departments in the county, with 1, 310 from the security and compliance sector, 1, 184 from the health department, 1, 126 from Devolution department and 425 from the Finance and Economic Planning sector.

Others are 362 from the education department, 328 from the Environment sector, 293 from roads department, 206 from the Department of Trade, 116 from Agriculture department, 21 from the legal department and 57 from the administrative sub-sector, among others.

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko’s spokesperson Ben Mulwa said the promotions are in fulfilment of pledges the governor made to the workers’ representatives in a meeting in September 2017.

He pointed out that the governor had also promised about timely payment of salaries and retirement benefits, all which he has fulfilled.

“For many years, Nairobi was rocked by perennial worker’s strikes due to delayed payment of salary. This has been a thing of the past since Governor Sonko assumed office due to fiscal discipline he introduced, and his commitment to addressing the plight of workers,” said Mr Mulwa.

He defended the promotion of workers already seconded to NMS saying that the County Public Service Board is the employer of all the workers as NMS does not exist in law and cannot employ anyone.

Mr Mulwa added that at the expiry of the Deed of Transfer in two years, the employees will return to the County.

“Ask everyone who was seconded whether they received their salaries from NMS or the County. Even when police officers are seconded for VIP protection, they are paid by the NPSC and not where they are designated,” he said.