Members of the giant Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union yesterday obtained a temporary order barring the government from implementing the newly increased NSSF deductions.
Industrial Court Judge Justice Byrum Ongaya directed KPAWU to serve the National Social Security Fund lawyers before the matter comes for inter-party hearing on June 20.
This is after the acting KPAWU secretary general Thomas Kipkemboi moved to court seeking a stoppage of the planned new deduction that targeted a deduction of 6 percent of every workers’ salary with employers contributing a similar amount.
Kipkemboi welcomed the ruling, saying the court had listened to their pleas for the 400,000 workers who argue that they would not wish to see their money deducted and the same handed over to NSSF, currently order probe for planning to spend Sh5.5 billion on the Tassia Housing project.
The secretary general told the court that workers were wary of the safety of their funds and sought inclusion of their representative, Damaris Muhiga, be gazette as Central Organisation of Trade Unions’ (Cotu) nominee to NSSF before the new scheme takes effect.