Cofek raises concerns over funding gaps crippling National Labour Board

Cabinet Secretary for Labour Alfred Mutua. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

The Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) has raised alarm over what it terms a deliberate neglect of the National Labour Board (NLB), warning that the complete lack of budgetary allocation has paralysed one of Kenya’s most critical labour governance institutions.

In a letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Labour Alfred Mutua, Cofek Secretary General Stephen Mutoro said the failure to fund and convene the NLB has had far-reaching consequences for workers, employers, the private sector and government operations.

He noted that despite its advisory status, the NLB plays a central role in Kenya’s labour and economic governance architecture.

“The NLB is critical to annual assessments of employment trends, training needs, manpower development, productivity measurement across sectors, and oversight of appointments to the Industrial Court,” Mutoro said.

“It is unacceptable that the Board has not met since April 2025 and has been forced to rely on local and international organisations such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) to partially fulfil its mandate.”

Established under the Labour Institutions Act, the NLB is meant to advise the Cabinet Secretary on labour policy and industrial relations, while also serving as a platform for dialogue between government, workers and employers.

Cofek argues that its prolonged inactivity threatens industrial harmony and undermines workforce development at a time when the country is grappling with unemployment, skills mismatches and low productivity.

Mutoro warned that the absence of a functional board risks “crippling productivity initiatives across sectors” and directly undermines the President’s economic agenda.

He further faulted the NLB chairperson and board members for failing to formally engage the Cabinet Secretary for nearly two years, calling it “a clear violation of the law governing the board.”

“This disregard for statutory requirements compounds the dysfunction and raises serious governance concerns. The buck stops with you and the ministry for gross neglect and failure,” Mutoro said.

Cofek is now demanding immediate action by the ministry, including allocation of sufficient resources to enable the NLB to operate effectively, and the urgent convening of the board to clear a backlog of correspondence and disputes dating back to 2020.

The federation also wants full compliance with legal requirements on formal communication between the NLB, the Cabinet Secretary and stakeholders

In the medium to long term, Cofek is pushing for a review of the Labour Institutions Act to empower Labour Commissioners to make urgent administrative decisions in the public interest.

It argues that the office of the Commissioner of Labour and Secretary to the NLB should operate with a semi-autonomous secretariat, supported by adequate staffing, research capacity and an open data portal on Kenya’s labour market.