Nairobi County Workers Begin Strike Over Delayed Salaries

Sakaja
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja
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Johnson Sakaja

Nairobi County government workers kicked off their go-slow on Thursday, September 18, following salary delays that have been plaguing the county employees for two months now.

Kenya County Government Workers Union (KCGWU), Nairobi branch Secretary Calvince Okello, in a memo on Wednesday, urged the workers to slow down or stay at home henceforth until their salaries and remittances are paid.

Okello noted that the county had defied a return-to-work agreement signed on August 11 in which the county had committed to paying salaries by the fifth day of each month.

However, as of September 17, the workers had yet to be paid, leading most of the county staff to fail to meet both their personal and family obligations.

A photo of the entrance to City hall, Nairobi
A photo of the entrance to City Hall, Nairobi.
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Nairobi City County

As such, Okello claimed that many of the employees could not even afford the fare to commute to work and thus urged those unable to do so to boycott work until the payroll is fixed.

"It's quite unfortunate that today, being the 17th of September, 2025, Nairobi county staff are yet to receive their third-party remittances of July 2025 and August 2025 salaries, and there are no signs when the salaries will be paid. This is a gross contravention of the Return to Work agreement," the statement read in part.

"As the county management resolves the salaries issue as per the circular NCC/CS/GA/832 dated 9th September, 2025, the union hereby advises our members to slow down their services to the county and those unable to commute to duty to stay at home until salaries are credited to their accounts."

On August 6, following another bout of salary delays, the county workers escalated their strike to a physical standoff, blocking the entry and exit of vehicles belonging to senior county officials, effectively bringing the premises to a standstill.

Led by union leaders KCGWU Secretary General Festus Ngare and Okello, the employees demanded the immediate payment of their delayed salaries. 

Chanting slogans and refusing to move, the workers' desperation and the growing defiance in their demand for payment were manifested in videos seen by Kenyans.co.ke.
 
This standoff resulted in the signing of the Return to Work formula with the county management, which the county has since defied, just a month later.
 
In a similar protest in 2024, the workers took to the streets over a salary increase dispute, in which they were assured that the County Public Service Board had already created a schedule to solve the issue of promotions and redesignation.
 
The county is yet to respond to the matter.
The Kenya County Government Workers Union Members
An image of the Kenya County Government Workers Union Members.
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KCGWU