All Hands in Kenya: Advancing Labour Standards through Cooperative Action

Kenyan law and practice need to be improved to achieve compliance with international labour standards and ACW. Government enforcement of labour legislation is weak and inconsistent; with insufficient alternative dispute resolution, labour disputes languish in the courts. Workers have difficulty exercising freedom of association. Women and other disadvantaged groups suffer discrimination in employment and occupation. There is a large informal sector, and increasing casualization of permanent jobs. There is a direct link between 1) high performing labour market institutions, 2) protection of labour rights, and 3) the rule of law. Building strategic and effective institutions therefore essential to achieve workplace compliance. The ILO will provide tailored advice and tools to nudge labour market institutions to deliver better, by building a strategic compliance system that transcends the traditional enforcement model, and enhancing systems of labour dispute prevention and resolution. The project will focus on the apparel and tea sectors, which are important for Kenya’s international trade, and where non-compliance is common. All hands in Kenya: Advancing Labour Standards through Cooperative Action will be possible if the ILO, though a process of social dialogue, supports the development of labour market institutions, addressing a lack of government capacity to enforce and promote labour laws and standards, at sectoral and national level. Once such support is provided then the government, the social and other partners are capacitated to enter into a constructive dialogue and possess the technical knowledge and abilities for developing and implementing the necessary policy reforms. This will lead to labour market institutions that are effectively able to play their respective roles in a system of strategic compliance, eventually contributing to improving the government’s enforcement and promotion of labour laws and standards that are consistent with international labour standards and ACW, especially in the tea and textile sectors. This will have enabled the ILO and USDOL to advance labour standards in Kenya through cooperative action.

Project symbol

KEN/20/01/USA

Admin unit

CO-Dar es Salaam

Start date

03/12/2020

End date

30/11/2025

Total allocation

2605211

Total expenditure

Status

Active

2583485

Development Partners

USA, Department of Labor, Bureau for International Labor Affairs

Country/Countries

Kenya

Outcomes

Outcome 2: Strong, representative and influential tripartite constituents and effective social dialogue