The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu-K) has rejected an invitation to join a government-led committee formed to deliberate on plans to declare all employees of recently privatised sugar companies redundant.
In a response to the Labour Commissioner, Cotu Secretary-General Francis Atwoli questioned the logic behind the Labour Ministry convening a meeting to discuss job cuts instead of focusing on job creation.
“Cotu (K), therefore, respectfully declines to participate in the proposed meeting on redundancy, and instead calls for urgent consultations on strategies to expand employment opportunities in line with the ministry’s founding mission,” Atwoli stated in a letter to Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua dated October 3, 2025.
The planned redundancy follows the government’s decision to lease four state-owned sugar factories to private investors, who have now received approval to lay off all employees as part of the handover process.
In a directive to the managing directors of the affected factories, Principal Secretary in the State Department for Agriculture Kipronoh Ronoh instructed them to issue redundancy notices to all workers.
The move is expected to affect over 5,000 employees. Those who wish to continue under the new investors will be required to reapply for their jobs.
Ronoh stressed that the redundancy notices must be in writing, clearly state the reasons for termination, and outline the employees’ entitlements. Copies of the notices are to be sent to county labour officers for record and oversight.
To oversee the process, the Labour Ministry invited Cotu to nominate at least one representative to a tripartite committee consisting of government officials, employers’ representatives, and employees’ representatives.
The committee’s mandate is to review and provide policy and legal oversight on the redundancy plans in the affected public sugar companies.
It will also guide consultations among stakeholders to ensure adherence to labour laws, fair labour practices, and collective bargaining agreements. Additionally, the team is expected to offer technical support on dispute prevention, lawful termination, and compliance with international obligations, including ILO Convention No. 158.
“The purpose of the letter is to request that you nominate at least one officer to the tripartite committee and communicate the same to the Labour Commissioner… on or before 6th October 2025,” wrote L.K. Bii on behalf of the Labour Commissioner.
Atwoli dismissed the invitation, maintaining that Cotu would not participate in a forum chaired by the Labour Ministry to plan how to declare workers redundant. “As Cotu (K), we shall only take part in a meeting to discuss how to bake a bigger cake in order to create more employment opportunities,” he said.
“It is deeply concerning that the ministry, whose central mandate is employment creation, would convene a meeting to discuss redundancy at a time when the unemployment crisis in our country is acute,” he added, pointing out that the agricultural sector, including sugar, has great potential to generate more jobs.