By Abdimalik Hajir - Reporter
Kenya, July 10, 2026 -The Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) has urged the government to immediately gazette and implement President William Ruto's promised 12 per cent general wage increase for Kenyan workers.
In a press statement, Secretary General Francis Atwoli argued that the recent wage gazettement falls short of the commitment made by President William Ruto during the 61st Labour Day celebrations.
The giant workers' union maintains that the gazette notice focuses on adjustments to the statutory minimum wage rather than giving legal effect to the President's directive for a general wage increase across the workforce.
Atwoli has called on the Cabinet Secretary for Labour and the Office of the President to ensure the pledge is implemented in full.
During the Labour Day celebrations, the President unequivocally announced a 12 per cent general wage increase for Kenyan workers and a 15 per cent wage increase for agricultural workers.
"That announcement was received with great enthusiasm by millions of Kenyan workers who looked forward to its implementation as a demonstration of the government's commitment to improving workers' welfare amidst the rising cost of living," Atwoli said in the statement shared with newsrooms on Friday.
COTU said it is aware that, since the President's historic announcement, certain employer interests have been lobbying government institutions in an attempt to water down the intended wage increase by substituting a general wage increase with a minimum wage increase.
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Such efforts, the Secretary General noted, not only undermine the spirit and intention of the President's directive but also deny millions of Kenyan workers the benefits that were publicly promised by the Head of State.
Atwoli said a general wage increase and a minimum wage increase are distinct legal and policy interventions, adding that while an increase in the minimum wage benefits workers earning the statutory minimum, a general wage increase is intended to improve the earnings of workers across the wage structure.
"COTU (K) therefore calls upon the Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection to urgently take the necessary legal and administrative measures to gazette the 12 per cent general wage increase exactly as announced by His Excellency the President during the Labour Day celebrations," he said in his statement.
The union called upon the Office of the President to intervene and ensure that the commitment made to Kenyan workers is fully honoured through the gazettement and implementation of the general wage increase.