Judge’s ruling on union is music to ears of petitioners

It is a big win for over 200 musicians in the country after the High Court ordered the Registrar of Trade Unions Beatrice Mathenge to register the Kenya Musicians Union.

Justice James Rika of Milimani Employment and Labour Relations Court yesterday issued orders compelling the government to register the Musician’s union without further delay.

“The Registrar of Trade unions shall forthwith register Kenya Musicians Union. The Registrar shall issue Kenya Musicians Union with a certificate of registration and enter the Kenya Musicians name in the appropriate register,” Justice Rika (pictured) ordered.

While allowing the registration of the union, the Judge ruled that the over 200 musicians in Kenya have a right to belong to a trade union to safeguard their rights and advance their employment and artistic interests.

“They need a trade union of their own to collectively bargain on their behalf, and register a CBA, a labour instrument they have not had in their music careers. There is no impediment in law or fact, to deny them registration,” ruled the judge.

The verdict by the court comes after the musicians appealed a decision by the government to decline to recognise their union.

The Registrar of Trade Unions had on October 25, 2021 declined to register the union on grounds that there was another trade union knows as Kenya Union of Entertainment and Music Industry Employees, which, it said, it sufficiently represented a substantial proportion of the musicians’ interests.

Unique group

Aggrieved by the move, four musicians – John Katana Harrison, Juma Odemba and George Odhiambi and Martin Mururia – on behalf of the 200 other musicians moved to court on July 18, 2022 arguing principally that the Registrar erred in declining registration, because Kenya Union of Entertainment and Music Industry Employees, involves a wider group of Employees, including bouncers, waiters, waitresses, chefs, deejays, event organisers, comedians, among others.

“We musicians are a unique group. We are composers of artistic work. We are freelancers and mostly attached to music producers and labels for specific projects/ contracts. Others in the entertainment industry are mostly in formal employment,” the petitioners told the court.

The musicians argued that different trade unions have been registered in the same field, provided they have different sectoral interests.

They further informed the court that on November 4, 2022, they wrote to the Registrar that they had entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kenya Union of Entertainment and Music Industry Employees, and there was no longer an objection to their registration.

The Registrar of Trade unions had opposed the suit, confirming that the registration was denied solely on the ground that there is another trade union which sufficiently represents the interests of musicians.