Kenya Power staff threaten to strike over planned mass layoff

The employees, through the Kenya Electrical Trades and Allied Workers Union (KETAWU) have opposed the planned retrenchments, saying that they have not been involved in the plan.

According to the power supplier’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Rosemary Oduor, the phased voluntary employee separation (VES) exercise will send home 1,962  employees and replace them with 830 younger staff at a cheaper cost.

“The company, because of low attrition rate, has an ageing and expensive workforce resulting in staff cost growing at nearly twice the rate of revenue growth,” Oduor previously said in an internal circular dated January 24.

The programme is set to be implemented in May through June 2023 and will see the current Kenya Power employee count of  9,843 fall to  8,711.

Additionally, the exercise will set Kenya Power back an estimated Ksh5.3 billion.

“In an environment where low operational costs and agility are critical requirements, productivity and quality of service have been negatively impacted,” Oduor further noted.

In January, the company trimmed its commercial and technical losses, opening the door for the much-publicized 15 per cent cut to electricity tariffs.

The company is further expected to take centre stage in the quest for cheaper electricity for Kenyans with the Ministry of Energy now set to midwife talks between the utility and independent power producers (IPPs) on the review of power purchase agreements (PPAs).