Union vows to block transfer of payroll to NMS

The payroll dispute between Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) and Nairobi County government escalated yesterday after Kenya County Government Workers Union vowed to block any attempt to transfer the payroll to NMS.

Led by Nairobi branch secretary Boniface Waweru, the union argued that as currently constituted, NMS should not be allowed to handle the county payroll after the Employment and Labour Relations Court declared it unconstitutional.

“As a union, we will not allow members to have the payroll transferred. If transferred, we are worried that it may lead most of our members losing benefits as we are not sure how long NMS will last,” he said.

Waweru also wondered why the Treasury was continuing to fund NMS while workers in the county government have gone for two months without pay.

“It is surprising to see NMS has continued to work behind doors to ensure county workers are oppressed. We will not accept this anymore and we are issuing a seven-days strike notice,” he warned.

The NMS and the county the government are yet to resolve the issue of who will manage the payroll of seconded county workers.

However, Governor Mike Sonko has dismissed the ongoing push and pull over the payroll between the two entities terming it as unnecessary.