Central Organization of Trade Unions (Kenya)
 | |
| Full name | Central Organization of Trade Unions |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1965 |
| Members | approx 1,500,000 [1] |
| Affiliation | ITUC |
| Key people |
Rajabu W. Mwondi, chairman Francis Atwoli, secretary general |
| Office location | Nairobi, Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Website | www.cotu-kenya.org |
The Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) is a national trade union center in Kenya. It was founded in 1965 upon the dissolution on the Kenya Federation of Labour and the African Workers' Congress. Its main competitor currently is Non Governmental Workers Union (NGOWU).
Non Governmental Workers Union (NGOWU) Is the umbrella organization which represents the interests of all the employees working in the NGO world in East Africa. This Union was formed in 2013 the main idea being that NGO workers have different needs from those of the government and the private sector workers who are represented under COTU. However, there were problems with the established Trade Unions which saw this as an afront a main catchment area for members. To curtail this problem and ensure that the employees for various international bodies adhere to their principles, the various organizations led by the Senior Staff working under United Nations in Gigiri, AMREF International, Red Cross, Transparency International and Japhet Callen Memorial Foundation among others met on May 8, 2015 and agreed on a number of issues. The core among them was that anybody seeking employment in these organizations had to be already registered with NGOWU for an equivalent US $200. This is Roughly Ksh 20000. However, unlike other employers, these international NGOs usually refund to their workers the said amount once they are in employment. Another issue which agreed on was that registration status were transferable from one organization to the other inacase of job shifting among employees. Currently, the officials of NGOWU are: 1. Cleophas Ochieng -Chairman 2. Andrew Kirwa - Secretary General 3. Charles Mutisya- Vice Chairman 4. Kirimi Marete -Organizing Secretary among others.
The COTU is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation. As of present, the only Kenyan Trade Union which is not allied to Cotu is the Non Governmental Workers Union (NGOWU). This has been occasioned by the fact that terms of service for civil servants who form the bulk of COTU membership are different from those which most NGO employees adhere to. Unlike, most trade unions, for one to be employed in majority of International NGOs in Kenya he/ she must already be a registered NGOWU member. However, the NGOs usually facilitate the registration process and refund their employees once in active employment.
References
- ICTUR et al.,, ed. (2005). Trade Unions of the World (6th ed.). London, UK: John Harper Publishing. ISBN 0-9543811-5-7.