Atwoli 'must go'; his dalliance with government has neutered Cotu

Nothing captures the essence of Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu), Secretary General Francis Atwoli's being than the headline, 'Atwoli: A political wheeler dealer disguised as a workers defender', which appeared in The Standard on Labour Day.

His expeditious transformation from being rabidly anti-Ruto to Ruto’s praise singer par excellence in 2022 is a subject of study. The number of political gatherings that Atwoli has since graced are a tad too many, viewed against the 'kateni miti' rallying call that he exuberantly used to mock Ruto during the 2022 general election campaigns. 

Atwoli's Labour Day speech was an antithesis. It addressed everything and anything but the reason for that special workers' day. It betrayed a detached leadership that has long lost touch with the reality of our economic situation, which has turned Kenyan workers into paupers.

While workers looked up to Atwoli to raise the matter of the high cost of living, taxation that takes away more than half a  worker's salary and the minimum wage, he was at peace calling for the State regulation of social media because China has done it. How about hanging corrupt people in public because China does that too? 

Social media regulation is not the cure for our problems, it is playing ostrich. The government is responsible for the venom that is being liberally directed at it. It lost the trust of citizens through deceit, and must deal with the consequences. This is an enlightened generation that won't be placated by vacuous promises. 

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Specifically, because the freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate in Kenya exist only on paper, social media offers aggrieved Kenyans not just a platform to vent, but a level of anonymity and cover where black Subaru's and armed men in balaclavas do not prowl. 

Atwoli is pained that hawkers project a negative image of poverty to foreigners. He wants them to be driven away, oblivious that doing so would deny them the means to a livelihood. 

Many hawkers are graduates who can't find jobs because of ingrained corruption. Such is the mentality of political wheeler dealers who refuse to acknowledge that the government is the chief architect of poverty in this country. 

Atwoli contends that Cotu is not a political party, hence is constrained to work with the government of the day. That's a fallacy. Ideally, trade unions are wired to operate like quasi political parties. Unions exist to exert checks on power, with a clear mandate to ensure workers rights are protected. 

By their very nature, governments are exploitative; extracting more from workers while giving little, if anything, in return. This gives trade unions reason to indulge in political lobbying and advocacy, which should be directed at employers and the government. When trade unions go to bed with the government, workers become orphans.

Philosopher Karl Marx's view of trade unions is that they have a role to play in the overthrow of capitalism by embracing class struggle; basically a fight against capitalism. 

In capitalist states like Kenya, a handful of individuals own the means of production that include factories and land, making huge monetary gains from the labour of the majority whose pay is disproportionate to their labour.

Trade unions must therefore stop being too cosy with the government and instead challenge the system over its predatory inclinations that rob workers of dignity.

Political theorist Vladimir Lenin believed trade unions must be independent to give workers a voice but urged cooperation between the state and trade unions rather than confrontations, the aim being to build a relationship based on trust.

While Atwoli could genuinely be pursuing cooperation with the government, his supplication to the State has defanged Cotu to a level where it neither has bark nor bite. 

Most workers want the Housing Levy to be voluntary. However, when Atwoli unilaterally gives it a clean bill of health, he effectively muzzles their voices.

The Social Health Authority is comatose, with barely four million of the 20 million registered members making their monthly contributions out of disappointment, but  Atwoli vouches for it. Who is he speaking for? Cotu needs new blood.