Let-down: Atwoli, Ruto ignore worker's calls for higher wages, tax relief and job security

They wore expensive clothes, rode in high-end fuel guzzlers, had sumptuous luncheon as millions were splashed on Friday to mount this year’s Labour Day in Chavakali, Vihiga County.

President William Ruto and Cotu Secretary General led the country in marking the workers' day in contrasting versions. At home, majority of workers watched in disappointment, weighed down by the high cost of living that has pushed millions to the edge.

Plans to cushion Kenyans against the rising living costs, taxation concerns, and demands for better wages among workers took a back banner as attendees at the Chavakali grounds, were treated to President Ruto’s re-election narratives.

The President’s speech dwelt on his scorecard while the umbrella workers union boss, Francis Atwoli, said he is in government, and rallied workers to chant two term. Even the 12 per cent increment in wages by the President, a drop in the ocean as it were, weighed against the high economic pressure that the citizenry have had to endure, drowned in the political rhetoric that marred the national event.

And now, workers may have to contend with thinner payslips as observers described the  12 per cent increment declaration as vague and without specific timelines on implementation.

A section of workers across the country said the raise could have been at least 23 per cent alongside adjustments on tax policies draining the payslip.

What however shocked many is how rapidly the event morphed into a 2027 presidential re-election campaign for the President pitched to Kenyans reasons to back his re-election and ignore what he described as noise from distractors.

Ruto painted a rosy picture of an economy that has improved the situation of the worker, but fell short in addressing the taxation measures that workers claim have shrunk their incomes.

As he spoke in Chavakali, workers called for an increase in wages, citing the growing economic strain due to rising cost of living, inflation and escalating fuel prices.

The event in Mombasa, for instance, was a contrast to the celebratory mood the President and his union allies exhibited in Chavakali. Here, workers were blunt. They are barely struggling to survive, and no one is listening or addressing their plight.

In his speech, however, the President claimed the economy is on track and hailed his administration for stabilising the shilling against the dollar. “In recognition of the sacrifice, resilience, and immense contribution of our workers to the growth and stability of the economy, I am pleased to announce a 12 per cent increase in general wages and a 15 per cent increase in agricultural wages,” said the President.

President Ruto also announced a new government-backed healthcare arrangement targeting public servants. “The government has initiated an agreement that will ensure a zero co-payment, walk-in-walk-out experience for all teachers and public officers,” said Ruto.

The announcement comes a day after the Federation of Kenya Employers rejected calls for a higher wage increase, urging the government to cap any adjustment at no more than five per cent.

Ruto hit out at his critics, stating that the economy has improved, arguing that Kenya is transforming positively due to good policies and deliberate measures he has taken.

“There are some people who have mental impairment, but this infrastructure we are building, but their greatest impact will be felt in the lives of ordinary Kenyans. These projects will generate jobs, stimulate enterprise, and attract investment along the corridor, ranging from logistics and manufacturing to trade and services. They will create new centres of growth, expand incomes, and lay the foundation for shared prosperity,” said Ruto

He added, “The expansion of the Rironi-Mau Summit Road, which will ultimately extend to the Malaba border, together with the onward extension of the SGR to Malaba, represents a new generation of future-shaping infrastructure.”

Ruto also lashed out at the media over propaganda about the economy stating that time will vindicate him and that country’s transformation is being seen and felt.

“Kenya is transforming. Kenya is changing right before our eyes. The noise may command attention, but it cannot, and it will never, change reality. Because the true story of a nation is not told in sponsored headlines, it is written in the daily actions of citizens like the 30.8 million Kenyans who have registered with SHA, and the thousands who continue to do so daily,” he said.

Ruto said the country’s GDP has remained steady amid the global pressure and uncertainty, adding that he has managed to stabilize the Kenyan shilling against dollar.

“Our GDP growth has held firm at 4.6 per cent, even in the face of global uncertainty and external disruptions. Inflation, at 5.6 per cent in April, remains within a manageable range, particularly in the context of prevailing global pressures, while our foreign exchange reserves, standing at $13.3 billion, provide close to six months of import cover, safeguarding our macro-economic stability,” said Ruto.

The event, expected to focus on workers’ rights and labour issues, instead featured repeated endorsements of the President’s leadership and chants of the two-term slogan led by Cotu boss Francis Atwoli.

He joins the list of union leaders accused of abandoning workers’ interests in favour of President Ruto’s early campaigns. Others are Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary General Collins Oyuu and his Kenya Union of Post Primary Education (Kuppet) counterpart Akello Misori.

As the workers marked Labour Day, the unions are under growing scrutiny from members who question their effectiveness, even as many of these issues remain unresolved.

For instance, a grim picture faces the teaching fraternity, weighed down by low pay, shrinking take-home earnings and a growing sense of abandonment, even union officials cheered on at Chavakali grounds.

The teachers are already facing heavy deductions that erode their earnings, questions of stalled promotions under the Career Progression Guidelines milling and a issued around the troubled medical cover under the Social Health Authority remaining unresolved.

Oyuu and Misori, allies of COTU-K, still looked away and never lobbied for better terms, as lingering uncertainty looms over the place of junior secondary school teachers.

On Friday, Atwoli appeared to shift focus from workers’ grievances to political mobilisation, repeatedly praising the President’s administration and calling for unity behind the Kenya Kwanza government.

Atwoli would even switch from English to local dialect to plead with locals to support Ruto’s re-election bid.

“I am talking to you as your leader and elder. Your leaders are sitting before you. Some of you are asking and wondering where you should go or who to follow, but I want to tell you that the government and the next one is here and it is where to go as people of this region,” said Atwoli.

He warned against supporting opposition leaders, arguing that political alignment should be guided by access to power and development opportunities. Ironically, as he spoke, Atwoli also urged IEBC to halt the ongoing early campaigns.

“We cannot follow someone who is in opposition, someone who has nothing. We have our neighbour who is closer to us and he has everything the power, leadership, and state machinery and that is where we should be,” Atwoli added.

He later led chants of “two-term,” encouraging the crowd to raise their hands in support of the slogan. However, the speech drew mixed reactions, with some attendees questioning the shift from labour issues to political endorsement.

Critics argued that the Labour Day platform should have focused on rising living costs, taxation concerns, and demands for better wages among Kenyan workers.

Similarly, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives Wycliffe Oparanya, urged Western residents to back the Head of State and embrace ongoing development efforts under the Kenya Kwanza administration.

Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua under whose watch, scores of Kenyans have lost their lives after being duped into opaque job programmes, was all smiles as he presented what he described as progress for the Kenyan worker.

He announced that more than 6.2 million jobs have been created in Kenya since President Ruto assumed office in 2022, attributing the gains to ongoing economic reforms and government development programmes.

Mutua said the figures reflect what he described as “unprecedented progress” in the labour sector driven by targeted interventions across both public and private sectors.

“A lot of progress, especially in the labour sector. Let me give figures, because figures don’t lie, Your Excellency,” Mutua said.

He reported that the public service alone has absorbed about 1.895 million workers, with key sectors contributing significantly to overall employment growth.

Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa and his Vihiga counterpart Wilbur Ottichilo intensified calls for political support for President Ruto’s re-election.

Mudavadi’s remarks added to the growing wave of political messaging during the Labour Day celebrations, which saw several leaders use the platform to rally support for the President ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Mudavadi told the crowd he was certain of a second term for the Head of State, and called on residents to actively engage in voter registration exercises to strengthen the region’s political influence. “For me, I am sure it’s two term. I want us to discuss what is the margin of two term,” he said.

He further urged leaders and supporters to ensure future elections are peaceful and credible, saying he did not want a disputed outcome that could end up in court. “I don’t want an election where it will be taken to court,” he added.

Oparanya urged Western residents to rally behind President Ruto, arguing that the region should align itself with others that had already embraced his leadership.

“We should embrace President Ruto as a region the way other regions are doing, but we want to assure the President that here in Western region, we are saying two-term,” said Oparanya.