The Senate has moved to protect Kenyan workers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in a raft of proposals enshrined in the Pandemic Response and Management Bill, 2020.
In a report released on Tuesday, April 14, the Ad-Hoc Committee on COVID-19 Situation in Kenya, headed by Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja, proposed that employers who are not able to pay their workers due to the adverse effects of the pandemic should not dismiss them.
"Where a pandemic adversely affects the ability of an employer to pay salaries or wages, an employer shall not terminate a contract of service or dismiss an employee.
"An employer shall also not coerce an employee to take a salary cut," Cap 30 of the Pandemic Response and Management Bill, 2020 reads.
The Senate committee proposed that in the event the employer is unable to meet his obligations to pay salaries or wages, they should permit an employee to take a leave of absence without pay for the duration of the pandemic.
The Senators further directed that the Labour Cabinet Secretary would be required to develop measures to cushion employers and employees during the pandemic as approved by the Parliament.
Further noting that the pandemic would affect a vast majority of people, the Senators charged the national and county governments to put in place social safety schemes designed to support vulnerable persons, vulnerable households and informal sector workers whose incomes have been disrupted by the pandemic.
"The schemes to be established by the national and county governments may include unconditional cash transfers to support the identified groups to meet their daily basic necessities.
"The relevant national and county government agencies may, during a pandemic, waive water and electricity charges for identified vulnerable persons and households.
The Senators further proposed that the county governments in conjunction with water and electricity service providers should also consider adjusting tariff rates in order to reduce utility charges to individuals and businesses.
They further advised that both the agencies and the counties should consider withholding disconnections for non-payment of utility bills.
