For more than a quarter century the labor movement in Kenya has made significant strides for workers. The transition from colonial rule to independence saw the installation of important labor laws which were progressive by Third World standards. A comprehensive minimum wage law mandates both wages and wage increases.
Strikes are legal.
Dismissals can and are regularly appealed by unions to the industrial court. In recent years, however, these rights have been gradually eroded because of an ever increasing population and a slow-growing economy where job creation has simply not kept pace with the numbers looking for work. Kenya is among only six countries in Africa where industrial courts still sit daily to hear and settle industrial disputes arising from wrongful dismissal, claims for wage increases and other labor disputes. Due to the ever rising number of industrial disputes and a back-log of pending cases, the Kenyan government established a second Industrial Court early this year. The unions considered this to be an important pro-labor step.