INDUSTRIAL RELATION REVISION

Industrial Relations in Kenya highlights how the regulations that occur in the relationship that
exist between an employer and an employee in an organization. The relationship is regulated by
sources such as constitutional rights, statutory rights set by collective agreements and extension
order of collective agreements and individual labour contracts.
The sources of labour regulations in Kenya are:
a. constitutional rights
b. statutory rights, as set out in statutes and regulations
c. Rights set by collective agreements and extension orders of collective agreements
d. Individual labour contracts.
MAIN FEAFURES OF THE KENYAN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS:
Kenyan trade unions are sector based. Some are general unions operating beyond
individual’s industries. Examples are Kenya Union of Commercial, Food and Allied Workers
which represents workers in varied sectors eg. Banking food, retail and financial.
There is also collective agreement which is defined in the Trade Disputes Act as “an
agreement made between a trade union and an employer or organization of employers which
relates to terms and conditions of employment, whether or not enforceable in law and whether or
not concluded under machinery for negotiation.”
There are Industrial Court rules which provide that where any trade dispute exists and the
parties wish to refer such a dispute to the Court, they file an application to the Court, which
contains the basic and necessary information for the Court. Once the dispute has been accepted
by the Industrial Court, it is formally registered. After the exchange of memoranda, the parties
are allowed a week before the hearing takes place.
In settlement of individual labour disputes, the magistrate’s courts Act and Civil
Procedure Act cases may be filed in the High Court, or in any of the Magistrates’ Courts. There
is another alternative open to an individual with a labour dispute under the Employment Act,
section 40.

THE EVOLUTION OF LABOUR LAW IN KENYA

 We can trace the root of labour law and practice in 19 th century when the need arose for
the colonial government to pass legislation to ensure adequate supply of cheap labour to service
the emerging enterprises in agriculture, industry and in the service sector. Terms and conditions
of employment were regulated by statues and common law.

In Kenya, the law of contract was originally based on the contract Act, 1872, of India,
which applied on contracts made or entered into before 1 st of January 1961. It only applied to
three countries eg Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Kenyan law of contract has been based on the
English common law of contract since then under the Kenyan Law of Contract Act (Cap. 23)
section 2 (1).

The first wage earners association can be traced back to the early 1940’s and soon after the
Second World War.

After the introduction of Ordinance No. 35 of 1939 that required all crafts organizations
to apply for registration which they could be granted or denied depending on whether they had
legitimate dealings consistent with government policy.

There was introduction of Trade Union Labour Officer introduced by the government in
1948 attached to the Labour Department with the duty to foster unionism. Due to lack of
necessary provisions for effective operation of trade unions, the government encouraged creation
of staff association and works committees since they fitted in its interests to confining workers’
organization to economic imperative alone and also lacked strike powers.

There was signing of the Industrial Relations Charter by the government of Kenya, the
Federation of Kenya Employers and the Kenya Federation of Labour, the forerunner of COTU (K), the
Central Organization Of Trade Unions (Kenya) in October 1962 which was the landmark to end the rigid
control of trade unions.