Civil servants ignore strike as Mombasa port hit

A nationwide strike by lecturers, civil servants and teachers called two days ago to oppose the new National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) rates was largely ineffective on Thursday, with normal learning continuing in most schools and universities across the country.

A spot check in many public offices also revealed that the majority of civil servants reported for work.

The strike by members of the Trade Union Congress (TUC-K) aims to push the government to revoke the higher deductions for its national health insurance scheme, which in April increased its monthly premiums to a high of Sh1,700 from Sh320.

But the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) continued to record losses as hundreds of workers stayed away from work for the second day running, disrupting activities at East Africa’s biggest port, even as they were ordered to resume work today or be sacked.

“Any employee who will not report or discharge his or her duties will be deemed to have forfeited their appointment,” the authority said in a notice to workers.

Cargo ships remained unattended as workers gathered and held discussions in groups at the port which handles imports such as fuel for Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

The ships’ daily running costs are estimated at between Sh5 million and Sh10 million. Mr Gichiri Ndua, the KPA managing director, said the authority has lost over Sh100 million in handling fees in the more than 36 hours the workers have been on strike.

Civil servants’ weak backing for the strike reflected a broader lack of appetite for militant action by workers concerned for their jobs threatened by the government’s austerity drive.

READ: Resume work or face the sack, KPA tells dock workers

In Nairobi, TUC-K deputy secretary general Charles Mukhwaya termed the strike successful though he admitted that some members were not participating fully, which he blamed on poor communication. He said the turnout would increase next week as word about the strike spread.

“We have all our members out there. They are not working though some like teachers have not participated fully,” said Dr Mukhwaya addressing the few members who had turned up at TUC-K in Nairobi. He said lecturers, civil servants, teachers and dock workers would not resume work until the government agrees to shelve the higher NHIF rates.

The union also called off demonstrations that had been planned in Nairobi to the Office of the President to avoid confrontation with the police who had declared the move illegal.

“We have decided to call off the demonstration to ensure that hooligans do not infiltrate as we are law abiding citizen,” said Dr Mukhwaya.

TUC-K wants monthly contributions to be varied and pegged at 1.5 per cent of worker’s basic salary and the government to pay twice what its members contribute or at least three per cent of the contribution.

NHIF members earning between Sh50,000 and Sh59,999 in April started remitting Sh1,200 to the enhanced benefits scheme while the self-employed are paying Sh500 up from Sh160 a month.

Workers paid Sh100,000 and above remit the highest amount at Sh1,700 – a 431 per cent increment.

Additional reporting by Gitonga Marete and Mwakera Mwajefa