This archive report was first published on 21 September 2021.
On September 21, 2021, the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Kenya gave the green light to the Kenya National Union of Nurses (Knun) to auction property belonging to the Murang'a County Government.
The court's decision was made in response to the county's failure to remit monthly statutory fees totaling Ksh3 million, as required by law.
Labour and Relations Court Judge David Marete ruled that the county government had failed to pay statutory deductions, defying a previous judgement that required them to do so.
The devolved unit failed to remit deductions from January 2019 amounting to Ksh2.4 million and Ksh765,000 between March and October in 2018.
According to the court's Deputy Registrar, Mercyline Nafula, the amount for the auction has been derived from a decretal fee of Sh3 million, interest of Sh31,000, and a court fee of Sh2,000.
The court ordered Icon Auctioneers to proceed with the sale of moveable property belonging to Muranga County as well as its County Public Service Board.
The auction is set to take place on or before November 12, 2021.
Justice Njagi found the county government and the CPSB at fault for failing to deduct trade union fees from employee salaries, instead including Ksh500 in the nurses' salaries.
He termed the move as a breach of the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) signed by county governments and the union.
The Labur Court further quashed the circular by the Council of Governors (COG) directing county governments to stop issuing the deductions to KNUN.
The court ruled that the COG lacked the mandate to issue any directives to CPSB on issues concerning nurses.
