COTU Sec-Gen expresses support for NSSF contributions increase

COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli during a media briefing. [Robert Menza, Standard]

The Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has expressed his support for implementing the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Act, 2013, arguing that it will benefit Kenyan workers.

This Act was enacted by Parliament in 2013 December. It increased NSSF contribution rates from the previous standard rate of Sh400 to 12 per cent.

In a statement on Tuesday, COTU dismissed critics of the move as political narratives fueled with misinformation. He says it is a savings mechanism to cushion Kenyan workers during retirement.

“Any attempts to politicize or misrepresent the revised NSSF contribution rates, which were legally enacted in 2013, only serve to mislead the public, hinder compliance, and jeopardize workers' long-term financial security,” the statement reads in part.

While arguing that the law terms social security as a fundamental human right, he has further compared the new NSSF contributions to neighbouring countries such as Uganda.

“It is, therefore, the duty of the government, employers, and all players to uphold and enhance social security measures, including strengthening NSSF,” he said.

Following the enactment of the NSSF Act 2013, the courts pronounced the NSSF Act of 2013 unconstitutional.

However, the Court of Appeal, in 2023 reversed the decision by holding that the lower court had no jurisdiction in determining the NSSF Act of 2013 was unconstitutional.

The Court of Appeal stressed that the court lacked jurisdiction to determine the matter as the dispute was not within the ambit of an employer-employee dispute, but was rather a question of the constitutionality of the NSSF Act.

This decision of the Court of Appeal was appealed to the Supreme Court which overturned the decision on the basis that the court has jurisdiction to determine the constitutional validity of a statute in matters of employment and labor while remitting the case back to the Court of Appeal.