Kenya Postal Corporation sacks hundreds of striking workers

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Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) has sacked hundreds of striking workers on claims that the court had ruled that the industrial action was illegal.

The state-owned firm has given the workers four weeks to appeal against the sacking order as postal services remained paralysed for the second day.

The workers are demanding a 30 per cent pay rise, but the company has offered them a five per cent increment on the strength that it’s facing lean times due to stiff competition from players using modern technology to deliver information and money.

Post Master General Hussein Ali maintains that the strike is illegal and on Sunday warned the striking workers risked losing their jobs for going against court orders—a threat that has come to pass.

“Decision has therefore been made to summarily dismiss you from service with immediate effect,” said one of the dismal letters seen by the Business Daily.

“As per the provisions of Posta code, you have a right to appeal within four weeks upon the receipt of this letter. Any appeal received after the expiry of the stipulated period will not be considered,” it read.

A spot check by the Business Daily revealed that postal boxes around the Nairobi’s central business district were not emptied and ordinary post not delivered, inconveniencing customers.

The strike could see PCK lose a huge chunk of its revenues as it coincides with the end of the month and festivity season when the corporation handles gifts, utility bill payments and client’s financial statements.

On Monday, the Communication Workers Union (Cowu) said they will not be intimidated by sackings, arguing that PCK’s management has refused to negotiate with the workers.

“We have reached this juncture after all our efforts to open talks failed,” said Benson Okwaro, secretary-general of the workers union.
The state-owned company, with about 4,000 employees on its payroll— is struggling to remain afloat in a cutthroat competition environment dominated by technological advancement.

It is also weighed down by millions of shillings in debt to pensioners and other creditors.

The corporation sacked 400 workers early in the year as part of a restructuring plan aimed at pushing it back to profitability and cut wastage. The union has about 3, 000 members drawn from PCK.

The spat between the postal firm and its workers comes as Kenya is witnessing increased industrial action as employers press for more wages to compensation high inflation currently running at 19.72 per cent up from 5.45 per cent in January.

PCK with its 700 branches across the country has market share estimated at between 40 per cent and 50 per cent, yet it enjoyed monopoly status 13 years ago before the liberalisation of the telecoms and communication market in 1998.

Instant messaging, PDFs and e-mails as well as growth in Internet usage, for example, has made the art of letter-writing seem downright quaint .

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Postal union in court over sacking of striking workers

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The labour unrest at the Postal Corporation of Kenya has spilled to the courts after the workers union moved to stop the State-owned firm from sacking 558 striking employees.

The Communication Workers Union said it had filed a petition with the Industrial Court seeking orders to stop the corporation from terminating employment contracts of its members, adding that sacking workers was in breach of their rights to strike.

“Only a few of our members have collected the dismissal letters but we have since asked the rest not to collect them,” said Mr Benson Okwaro, secretary-general of the union.

Postal has advertised the positions of postal officials and drivers as it seeks to restore services that have remained paralysed for the third day, even before the four-week window to appeal against the sacking order expires.

Sources familiar with the matter said the corporation management is also split on the move by Post Master General Hussein Ali to dismiss the workers, terming the action drastic.

But Mr Ali maintains that the strike is illegal. He says he had warned the workers that they risked losing their jobs if they went against court orders.

Posta joins Kenya Airways in a growing list of firms that are advertising vacancies in their organisations when employees go on strike, a trend that unions say intimidates employees from exercising their constitutional right to withdraw their labour.

The workers are demanding a 30 per cent pay rise, that if awarded would push up the corporation’s costs at a time when it is facing stiff competition from players using modern technology to deliver information, money and other services, eating into its personal mail segment.

Its courier business has also come under intense pressure from private bus companies following the liberalisation of the parcels business, leaving the parastatal to rely on business mail for its revenue.

This pushed the state-owned company, with about 4,000 employees on its payroll, to apply to the communications regulator last month to be allowed to increase its prices.

The firm sent 24 million letters in the three months to June, a 17.2 per cent drop from a similar period in 2010.

Instant messaging, e-mails, social sites as well as growth in Internet usage have also eroded the art of letter-writing.

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The more than 550 striking postal workers are yet to be paid their December salaries after the parastatal accused them of going on a strike that had been declared illegal by the court.

Communication Workers Union secretary-general Benson Okwaro Tuesday said the employees had also been denied access to their work stations despite the union calling off the strike on Thursday after it obtained a court order compelling the Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) to reinstate the workers unconditionally.

On Tuesday, a senior executive who requested not to be named because he is not the corporation’s spokesperson, confirmed that the corporation had paid all its workers the December pay apart from the 594 who were on strike and had been issued with dismissal letters.

The latest move by the parastatal confirmed its earlier warning that workers who were demanding a 30 per cent increase in salaries risked losing their jobs.

“We called off the strike on Thursday and expected that PCK will act according to the court order, however, it has not only refused to pay them but also locked them out,” said Mr Okwaro.

He added that the union cannot take any action now because the matter is in court with a hearing scheduled for Thursday.

“We’ve not received our December pay and our attempts to resume work are being frustrated by the management, which has barred us from accessing our work stations,” said Johnson Okoto, a PCK employee based in Kisumu.

This comes as the parastatal last week started a massive recruitment drive to replace 550 workers it sacked on claims of being on a strike that the courts had ruled illegal.

The workers were demanding a 30 per cent pay rise, but the corporation offered them a five per cent increment on the strength that it’s facing lean times due to stiff competition from players using modern technology to deliver information and money.

The parastatal said in an advertisement that it is seeking postal staff and drivers to revive its services that had been paralysed for more than a week as the workers downed their tools demanding more pay. On Wednesday, the workers union said the recruitment was an act of intimidation and sought a court order to reverse the sacking.

“The applications must be sent by post to the Postmaster General not later than January 4, 2012, and applicants must indicate their home district,” said the notice seeking new employees.

A source at the postal firm said 556 workers have been fired and the recruitment drive is meant to plug the staffing gaps. The spat between the postal firm and its workers comes as Kenya is witnessing increased industrial action as employees press for higher wages to make up for high inflation currently running at 19.72 per cent, up from 5.45 per cent in January.

The state corporation, with about 4,000 employees on its payroll, is struggling to remain afloat in a competitive environment dominated by technologically savvy rivals. It is also weighed down by millions of shillings owed to pensioners and other creditors.

The corporation retrenched 400 workers early in the year as part of a restructuring plan aimed at pushing it back to profitability and cutting wastage. The union has about 3,000 members drawn from PCK.

The parastatal, with its 700 branches across the country, has market share estimated at between 40 per cent and 50 per cent, yet it enjoyed monopoly status 13 years ago before the liberalisation of the telecoms sector in 1998.