Over 2000 employees of Bomet County Government have a reason to smile after a court ruling in their favour against their planned lay off.
The workers, who were employed by the defunct local authorities including county council and municipal councils, were in October 2022 issued with three months’ notice of dismissal.
Led by their Bomet County Workers Union Secretary General David Rono, the workers lauded the court for what they termed as justice delivered.
Rono said there had been failed negotiations between the union and the Prof Barchok led administration which had insisted that the workers were hired on contractual terms.
He said the County Assembly had passed a petition seeking to have the workers be employed on permanent and pensionable terms.
The Bomet court had pronounced that all the affected workers were legitimate and should be confirmed as permanent employees.
The court also ruled that the workers’ salaries, which had been stopped since January 2023, be backdated and paid immediately.
The Union’s Chairman Edward Sigilai urged the county government to obey the court ruling and rid itself of the idea of appealing against the court ruling.
Sigilai said the county government, as an employer, should respect the rights of workers saying some of the affected workers have had their families broken up while some have not been able to take their children to school.
He said the most affected workers were clerks, cleaners and garbage collectors, all low on grade position, that he said were vulnerable to unjust treatment.
By Kipngeno Korir
