Atwoli Demands 23% Wage Hike Amidst Outcry Over Railway Labor Exploitation

COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli addresses shop stewards at the cotu - Kenya headquarters IN  NAIROBI, on April 18, 2026 .

NAIROBI, KENYA – In a high-stakes consultative meeting at the COTU Solidarity Centre today, convened to finalize preparations for the 61st Labour Day celebrations in Vihiga, the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU-K) set the stage for a major industrial showdown. Secretary-General Dr. Francis Atwoli issued a bold, non-negotiable mandate for a 23% increase in the minimum wage, warning that the Kenyan worker is being crushed by an economy where the cost of living "no longer walks, but runs."

Addressing a national assembly of General Secretaries and shop stewards, Atwoli painted a grim picture of the eroding dignity of labor. "Fellow workers, we stand at a crossroads," Atwoli declared. "The Kenyan worker, the backbone of our nation, is being squeezed by inflation and a shifting labor market. We make this firm demand for a 23% increase in the minimum wage because it is a calculated necessity for survival. Our data shows a worrying trend: permanent employment has plummeted from 42.3% in 2016 to just 31.7% today. We cannot discuss 'productivity' while the men and women providing that labor cannot afford basic necessities. To the management of Kenya Railways and others frustrating unions: your lack of commitment to CBAs is an invitation to industrial unrest. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) was not created to be a bottleneck for workers' rights. COTU will not be silenced. I am taking up these grievances personally to restore the dignity of our workforce. Solidarity Forever!"

General Secretary of the Railway Workers Union, Eric Tirop, addressed General Secretaries, shop stewards and trade union leadership from across the country within the different sectors, raising critical concerns affecting railway employees.

Earlier in the meeting, the General Secretary of the Railway Workers Union, Eric Tirop, delivered a scathing report on what he termed "institutional betrayal" at the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC). Tirop exposed a shocking disparity between the corporation's financial success and the welfare of its employees. He revealed that while the State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC) has officially placed Kenya Railways under Class A status due to its massive growth and profitability in cargo and passenger operations, the very workers driving these profits are still being remunerated under Category C. Tirop termed this as grossly unfair and deeply demoralizing to a dedicated workforce that sees the fruits of their labor but never tastes them.

Furthermore, Tirop decried the total collapse of industrial relations, noting that railway workers have not had a functional Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) honored since 2014. He pointed to a toxic collaboration between KRC management and the SRC, which he argued is designed to stall negotiations and impoverish workers. "The management uses the SRC as a shield to deny us our rights," Tirop added. "We are calling upon the COTU Secretary-General to intervene and stop this exploitation. Our railway workforce deserves fair working conditions and the restoration of the dignity stripped away by years of corporate greed and administrative frustration."