COTU Convention Generates Plenty of Public

UNCLAS NAIROBI 002348 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR AF/E, AF/RSA, EB/TPP/MTA, AND DRL/IL DEPT ALSO PASS TO USTR FOR BILL JACKSON DEPT ALSO PASS TO LABOR FOR ROB SHEPERD AND JIM SHEA GENEVA FOR JOHN CHAMBERLIN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB EINV ECON ETRD PHUM KE SUBJECT: COTU Convention Generates Plenty of Public Posturing SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. FOR USG USE ONLY. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Central Organization of Trade Unions - Kenya (COTU) election convention was unusually calm and well-organized, partially because there was no challenger to Secretary General Francis Atwoli and his Executive Board. Presidential contender and local hero MP Raila Odinga delivered a pro-market message not normally welcomed by unions, but he nonetheless received a big ovation and was characterized as the opposition leader most supportive of labor. Labor Minister Kulundu and Justice Minister Martha Karua endorsed Atwoli and used the opportunity to spout populist and anti-business themes. While their remarks pleased the union leaders and generated headlines, they probably do not constitute a shift in GOK economic policy. End Summary. Once Every Five Years, Labor Votes -------------- ¶2. (SBU) COTU invited the Regional Labor Attache to attend and address the May 20, 2006 election convention held at Tom Mboya Labor College in Kisumu, Kenya. Kenyan labor law requires all unions and the Federation to hold elections every five years. Although the Registrar of Trade Unions set a September deadline, Atwoli ordered all COTU-member unions to hold their elections before May 20 so that the COTU delegation to the June ILO Conference in Geneva would have a fresh mandate. COTU SG Atwoli had worked to ensure he and his Executive Board faced no challengers, but he still invited a strong lineup of regional African labor leaders to extol his work over the last five years and endorse his run for another term. Participants told Labor Attache this Convention was much calmer and better organized than previous ones because Atwoli had orchestrated it so well. Atwoli Runs Hard for Another Term -------------- ¶3. (U) In his speech, Atwoli welcomed the democratic space provided by the NARC Administration and its sympathy for labor, as demonstrated by President Kibaki's participation in May 1 labor day events. Atwoli stressed that workers are a key element to economic growth and development. He claimed to have restored local, regional and international respect for COTU by restructuring the organization, revitalizing membership and commitment, remaining independent, respecting trilateralism, and speaking out fearlessly on labor issues. He enumerated his leading role in labor organizations like ICFTU-AFRO, the Organization of African Unions, the East African Trade Union Confederation and the ILO. He boasted of his freedom to comment on any issue affecting workers, and pledged to sacrifice his life if necessary. Atwoli openly acknowledged that his Board members and advisors are tribally balanced to ensure representation of views. Opposition Leader Odinga Supports Open Economy -------------- - ¶4. (U) Orange Democratic Movement opposition leader and presidential contender Raila Odinga got a big ovation when Atwoli characterized him as the opposition leader most supportive of labor. Odinga commended labor's commitment to democracy, welcomed COTU's opposition to the draft Constitution in the November referendum, and claimed Kenya could do better than the NARC Administration. He said that unions remain relevant in the globalized economy, but need to focus attention on increasing productivity and attracting investment to create more jobs. Workers and producers both face high costs of living and production, and should cooperate to reduce both. Odinga recommended open markets, raising standards for quality, and diversifying the economy as ways to attract both local and foreign investment, grow the economy and fight poverty. He called for unions to think outside the box, educate and train members, focus on new economy sectors like ICT and e- commerce, and seek agents of change. Minister of State for Public Service Moses Akaranga made similar market-oriented points, stressing the importance of reforming the public service and providing in-service training to expose them to modern industrial relations. Ministers Pledge Support for Workers -------------- ¶5. (U) In their speeches, Labor and Human Resource Development Minister Newton Kulundu, and Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua, extolled Atwoli's performance in Kenya. They noted the peaceful industrial relations, his cooperation with the NARC government, and his willingness to criticize government agencies, parastatals and private companies to stand up for workers' interests. Both pledged the government's commitment to passing the five labor reform bills. Kulundu said he had delayed presenting the labor reform laws to the Cabinet because they did not provide deterrent penalties for violations. He promised to work with Justice Minister Karua to revise the bills and then submit them to Parliament, to which Karua concurred. Kulundu committed to improving workers' access to redress by posting Industrial Court Judges in provincial locations, to fighting child labor, and to improving the performance of the National Social Security Foundation. ¶6. (U) Justice Minister Karua congratulated Kenya's labor unions for holding democratic elections and addressing conditions of employment and social issues that affect their members. She acknowledged that working conditions were still sub-standard, especially in the Export Processing Zones (EPZ) and agriculture. Karua pled the government was doing the best it could, and pledged to respond to workers issues. She called on unions to work with employers and government to raise and address issues. However, she also warned that investors must strike a balance between profits and paying a salary sufficient to prevent degradation, poor living conditions and bad health for workers. Ministers Posture for Unions and Press -------------- ¶7. (U) Echoing the May Day speeches by President Kibaki and Francis Atwoli, Akaranga and Kulundu criticized tea plantation owners for expanding the use of mechanical tea picking machines to replace workers. Kulundu said he and the President had warned the tea plantation owners it was unacceptable for them to use mechanical pickers to replace 70,000 workers. "We cannot see workers enslaved by foreign companies who have a social responsibility to keep workers... If the companies threaten to leave, we will find another use for this Kenyan land." Karua called for the unions to demand respect for workers, end impunity for investors, and report insults to "indigenous Kenyans." She concluded by claiming that development partners' only goals were to obtain export markets and access to cheap labor in the EPZs, and that Kenya had to stand up for itself and bargain harder to develop fully. Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Kenyan unions are not known for their transparency and democracy, but most of the union elections were contested. Union leaders report there was significant turnover among the leadership at the branch level, and challengers defeated some incumbent national union leaders. Atwoli, however, had worked energetically to convince union officials that he and his team were doing a good job and were the best available. Some factions of trade unions may file protests against the COTU election with the Registrar of Trade Unions, but they seem unlikely to overturn the results and require a new election. ¶9. (SBU) Atwoli has maintained good relations with President Kibaki and the NARC government by avoiding strikes and industrial tensions, praising the government's support for democracy, and minimizing the Anglo-Leasing mega-corruption scandal as partisan politics. However, he sided with the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) in opposing the government's draft Constitution because it would have required labor's candidates for appointed positions to run as candidates for a registered party, rather than as a unified labor slate. Atwoli has emotively criticized parastatals for plans to cut back workforce, and foreign firms for mistreating Kenyan workers. However, some argue he sides too often with employers to ignore worker complaints, perhaps benefiting financially. When NGOs, some led by former COTU or union officials, led initiatives to highlight problematic working conditions, such as sexual harassment on flower farms, Atwoli objected, clearly resenting the implied criticism of his failure to address the issue. ¶9. (SBU) The Ministers' and MP's comments about the importance of economic productivity, investment and developing human resources contrasted oddly with their flagrant posturing for the labor audience on the threat posed by foreign firms, with their mechanized tea pickers and alleged verbal abuse of workers. The threats against investors got the headlines, but they do not appear to indicate any change in Kenya's economic or investment policies. However, Minister Karua's call for Kenya to stand up to donor conditionality does appear to be part of a developing GOK attitude of defiance towards Western donors. END COMMENT. BELLAMY