To its credit, the Ministry of Labour always responds to our readers’ enquiries and complaints, mostly touching on poor working terms and conditions and unfair dismissal.
A common characteristic of these workers’ concerns is that they had earlier been reported to District Labour Officers, who wrote to the offending employees. The frustrating result was that the officials were ignored.
Our opinion on February 4, after a complaint about salt firms in Magarini District, was that Labour Officers were inept and corrupt (Salt firms order gives taste of broken labour system). But proceedings at the National Labour Conference last week revealed a system that lacks funds and legal bite.
Labour officers are not only powerless but are also poorly distributed — below the recommended International Labour Organisation ratio. For example, there are only 97 labour officers and inspectors yet the minimum should be 256.
The first step in fixing the system is surely to allocate more funds and craft more robust laws.
Why be broke when you can be a broker?
The dodgy art of being a broker has in recent times hit the big time. What with involvement of shadowy characters supposedly reaping millions of shillings from the rocky City Council of Nairobi cemetery deal, the Machakos "technology city" land transaction and the maize scandal!
But a sub-species of the group has for decades remained content with modest deals along the corridors of Government offices. And it seems efforts at fumigating them have come to naught. Well, at least that is according to AO, who blows the whistle on "a conman operating with impunity" at the Registrar of Companies office in Sheria House, Nairobi.
AO suggests that inasmuch as the Registrar has taken commendable action to eliminate brokers, the smartly dressed Edwin and his ilk seem to be working in cahoots with security personnel at the gate and clerks.
"This individual, who waylays people at the gate, recently conned an old man of Sh10,000, claiming to be capable of registering a company fast. Subsequent calls and text messages to Edwin have been met with excuses and lies," says AO.
Watch out for this man, he warns the public and Government officials.
The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
join