The Central Organisation of Trade Union, (COTU), Secretary-General, Francis Atwoli held a meeting with the Energy Cabinet Secretary Dr. Monica Juma at Kawi House in Nairobi on Wednesday to air out issues affecting Kenya Power workers.
During the meeting, Atwoli was accompanied by the Kenya Electrical Trades and Allied Workers Union (KETAWU) Secretary-General Ernest Nadome and other union officials.
Some of the major issues raised and discussed were concerns on the purported redundancy of staff at Kenya Power, stalled promotion of staff, and conversion of casual employees into permanent and pensionable status.
Atwoli called upon CS Juma to ensure that there is a conversion of contracts from temporary contracts to permanent and pensionable terms.
He further noted that Kenya Power has many employees who have been working as casual workers and thus the lack of vibrancy and passion from many of their staff.
This, he said, negatively affects the company and the only way to restore the lost glory of Kenya Power is by having their staff motivated through employment on permanent and pensionable terms.
According to Nadome, there is a serious shortage of staff at Kenya Power, causing a backlog of connectivity, and it is, therefore, unwise for the management to think about retrenching some of their workers a claim that the CS said has not been brought to her attention and one that is equally ill-advised.
He also raised concerns over the promotion of long-serving employees at Kenya Power who have been working in one Job Group for more than 15 years.
On her side, CS Juma said the turnaround of Kenya Power was only going to be successful if they focus on workers and went further to assure Atwoli the Ministry will open up more engagement with unions and workers.
CS Juma assured the union leadership of a breakdown in communication between the Kenya Power Board, Kenya Power Management and the Union for streamlined communication channels with workers.
