Kenyan activists share experiences to build strength

Global delivery campaign activists at a seminar in Kenya committed to work together to coordinate union activities and organising, strengthening workers’ voices in the country.

Organisers, industrial officers, shop-stewards and members of the ITF-affiliated Transport and Allied Workers Union (TAWU) gathered to learn more about the global ITF family and the tools available to ITF affiliates in organising and campaigning on 15-17 October.

UNI Global Union affiliates Kenya Union Commerical Food and Allied Workers (KUCFAW) and Communications Workers Union (CWU) also attended. Following discussions, participants identified a gap in understanding the global delivery sector in the country, including knowing which companies participating unions are already organising in.

Other key shared challenges for the sector included the casualisation of labour and outsourcing. However, participants saw an opportunity to work together to lobby for improvements to the 2007 labour laws and agreed that through forming a committee workers can organise better and lobby in a smarter way. Each union at the meeting will be represented on the committee, along with key groups such as youth and women workers. A network of activists, sharing information and experiences on workers’ issues and developments in the sector will support the committee.

Anna Karume, ITF Africa deputy regional secretary, who attended the seminar, said: “It was inspiring to see the workers from different unions and even different sectors coming together to work out solutions to shared problems. We were very happy to see such great coordination between ITF and UNI affiliates – we often collaborate on a global level, and it’s great to see this cooperation at a national level, too. The workers’ motivation was plain to see – and they all agreed that if you want to walk fast, walk alone but if you want to walk far, walk together.”