Nairobi governor Mike Sonko announced that the county government will soon roll out a voluntary early retirement exercise for its staff, especially those approaching 50 years of age.
Governor Sonko on Tuesday stated that a majority of the 13,000 county staff are too old and will be compelled to retire in ten years time.
The Nairobi County boss stated: "I have approved rolling out this program of voluntary early retirement. No one will be forced to retire. Those who feel that are strong enough to work hard can continue working."
He further explained that a big chunk of the money collected by the county is used to cater for the employees' salaries.
[caption caption="Nairobi governor Mike Sonko"]
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Sonko, however, assured Nairobians that the county government was in the process of employing 800 constables and 200 firemen to boost service delivery.
"After paying workers we do not have enough money left for development purposes," Sonko remarked.
"We will give them a good health cover and a decent salary to take care of themselves and their families," he added.
He further maintained there are ways to devolve skills training as well as involve career growth among Nairobi workers.
Sonko was speaking during the 2018 Labour Day celebrations held at Uhuru Park where the government announced a five percent increase in minimum wage.
[caption caption="Crowd at Uhuru Park during Labour Day Celebrations"]
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Speaking on behalf of President Uhuru Kenyatta, Labour Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani further announced that the government is working to create more jobs by widening investments and stabilizing the country’s political environment and called for dialogue to end the ongoing strikes.
