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Kidero’s salary headache as City Hall workers plan to boycott work


City Hall workers are set to down their tools on Monday over delayed June salaries.

The workers plan to paralyze operations in the county at a time Governor Evans Kidero is grappling with striking nurses and Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company workers.

The impending strike over salary delay has been occasioned by a decision by the Kenya Revenue Authority to divert City Hall’s funds over tax arrears.

Last month, workers stayed without salaries until June 15 forcing City Hall to loan sh1.021 billion advance from Treasury to pay April salaries.

WORKERS NOTIFIED

Acting County Secretary Dr Rober Ayisi has already notified the workers’ union of the delay in a letter dated July 10, 2017 t

“This is to inform you that there will be delay in paying county wokers June salaries due to the following reasons: The controller of budget delay in processing request from the central bank of Kenya and 2016/17 financial year stock taking,” read the letter.

However the Kenya County Government Workers Union has refused to heed to City Hall’s plea and demanded the salaries be remitted immediately.

In a letter dated July 11th 2017, the union’s chairman Boniface Waweru said the continued diversion of the members’ deduction and delayed salaries can “only be interpreted as arrogance, mischief, inhuman and abreach of contractual terms that cannot be entertained any further.”

‘DISQUALIFY YOURSELF’

“In the circumstances, we demand that you have our gross salaries paid as per your commitment failure to which you disqualify yourself from holding the office of the County Secretary and the head of public service,” read the union’s letter.

Nairobi gubernatorial candidate Mike Sonko has lashed out at City Hall, attributing the delay of salaries to mismanagement.

“The delay of salaries of County workers is symptomatic of the gross mismanagement we are witnessing under Kidero. Nairobi should not be facing the fiscal challenges other counties might be facing given the huge revenue the county collects. My government will fix all these and make sure our hard working staff members are paid their salaries on time.” said Mr Sonko.