City Hall has been given until Wednesday to pay Sh18 Billion owed to County Government workers or face a withdrawal of their services.
County Government Workers Union Nairobi Branch Secretary General, Benson Olianga broke down the huge amount owed to them by the county.
He said the County Government previously under the stewardship of Dr Evans Kidero owes them Sh11 Billion for Laptrust, Sh6 Billion for Lapfund, over Sh500,000 in penalties for NHIF and NSSF deductions and Sh1.2 Billion for salaries.
Mr Olianga highlighted that a strike notice would be issued on Thursday if the debt is not cleared.
Governor Mike Sonko has promised Nairobi residents to improve service delivery and has held a series of meetings with various groups supposedly to chart the way forward.
The county chief held a meeting with the union officials last week, one he described as fruitful. He promised to fast-track the payments to the workers to ensure service delivery is not interrupted.
Mr Olianga, however, appeared sceptical of the Governor’s ability to clear the debt by Monday, noting that the county was already facing a financial crisis.
He also questioned the cash flowing in after Governor Sonko campaigned on a platform of lowering taxes for small-scale traders and business owners.
When he met the workers union, Sonko assured them that he would improve their working conditions significantly and change terms of service for the staff.
He informed them of his commitment to implementing the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and pledged to undertake a Human Resource (HR) audit to facilitate promotions and salary reviews.
Reports had emerged alleging a conflict between county workers and the private Sonko Rescue Team in some areas where they have been charged to undertake similar duties.
How the Governor handles this new strike threat will be in focus as the success of his agenda for the city hinges on a reliable and efficient workforce.
