Kenya Labour Laws

The ILO was created in 1919, as part of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I, to reflect the belief that universal and lasting peace can be accomplished only if it is based on social justice. The ILO ever since, has constantly been devoted to promoting social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights, whilst bringing together governments, employers and workers organizations to foster social and economic progress by promoting policies and programs supporting/promoting Decent Work for all.

The ILO's Governing Body has identified eight conventions as "fundamental", covering subjects that are considered as fundamental principles and rights at work adopted in 1998, The eight fundamental Conventions are :

1. Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87)

2. Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)

3. Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)

4. Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)

5. Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)

6. Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)

7. Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)

8. Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)

A discussion by the International Labour conference (ILC) in 2002 concluded that the growth of the informal economy can often be traced to inappropriate, ineffective policies coupled with the lack of conducive legal and institutional frameworks and the lack of effective implementation of policies and laws.

The ILO Law Growth Nexus project was conceived in an attempt to tackle these issues by exploring the effects of labour and labour related laws on the Micro, small and Medium enterprises (MSME). The LGN Project seeks to continue making a contribution to a more enabling policy environment for MSME development through facilitation of policy, legal and regulatory reform, and promotion of compliance to labour laws on one hand and MSME capacity building support on the other hand.

The LGN Project identifies Social Protection, Employment Creation and Social dialogue as priorities for consideration as part of its Decent Work Country Programs (DWCP) in Kenya. The overall outcome is more and better jobs in the MSME sector. From a baseline study conducted in two MSME sectors, the LGN project found that for many MSMEs, compliance hindrance of illiteracy and lack of knowledge is often compounded by a lack of easy access to labour laws; especially in the case of MSMEs that do not have the ability to ‘locate’ the relevant laws on the internet, or easily access government agencies that provide the relevant laws to the public.

In response to this challenge, the LGN project in Kenya ensured that it served the needs of working women and men by bringing together The ministry of Labour, the Federation of Kenyan Employers (FKE) and Central Organization of Trade Unions, to develop a mobile phone application with the aim of being a realistic labour law access provider in the Kenyan context.

The LGN Project is funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)