Homa Bay Town Member of Parliament (MP) Peter Kaluma has proposed a strategy that he says will help tame industrial strikes.

Kaluma, in a statement shared via his official X account, said that trade union leaders should be taken through negotiation skills training.

According to Kaluma, trade unionists will be able to enforce labour rights without recourse to strikes after acquiring the negotiation skills.

Kaluma on effects of strikes

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) lawmaker argues that industrial strikes have for the longest time served to disrupt the economy and constrain the jobs market.

“Trade unions play a critical role in the economy by securing fairplay in the labour market. However, the trade union leaders need to be taken through “negotiation” skills training to be able to enforce labour rights without recourse to strikes, which only serve to disrupt the economy and contrain the jobs market,” Kaluma stated.

Trade unions play a critical in the economy by securing fairplay in the labour market.
However, the trade union leaders need to be taken through “negotiation” skills training to be able to enforce labour rights without recourse to strikes, which only serve to disrupt the economy…

— Hon. George Peter Kaluma, CBS. MP. (Commentaries) (@gpdkaluma) March 31, 2025

Industrial strikes

Over the past years, trade unionists have been resorting to industrial strikes as a way of airing their grievances and inviting the government to the negotiation table every time there is a disagreement between the two sides.

The strikes have been affecting various sectors of the country’s economy, including health and education.

Just recently, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba announced an end to the long-standing strike by the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) staff that had crippled learning in the institution.

Ogamba, in a statement issued via his official social media accounts on Monday, March 17, 2025, said that he had witnessed the signing of the return-to-work formula for staff at TUK, putting an end to the strike that had paralyzed learning at the institution since January 23, 2025.

According to Ogamba, the agreement was signed by the Principal Secretary for Higher Education, Beatrice Muganda Inyangala, alongside the university leadership and representatives from UASU and KUSU.

“This afternoon, I witnessed the signing of the Return-to-Work Formula for staff at the Technical University of Kenya. The agreement, signed by the Principal Secretary for Higher Education, Dr. Beatrice Muganda Inyangala, alongside the university leadership and representatives from UASU and KUSU, resolves the industrial dispute that had disrupted activities at the institution since January 23, 2025,” Ogamba stated.

A week earlier, the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) had also officially ended its prolonged strike following a return-to-work agreement signed with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Council of Governors (COG).

The ministry, in a statement on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, confirmed that clinical officers had been directed to resume duty within 24 hours after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The agreement was finalized at Afya House in a meeting led by the then Health CS Deborah Barasa, who has since been moved to the environment docket, and COG Chairman Governor Ahmed Abdullahi.

Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has also, for the longest time, found itself at cross-roads with the government over posting and payment of the medical interns, a move that has been paralysing the health sector.