“NMS Employees Speak Out Against Job Loss”
It was a sad day for 700 employees of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) who were recently rendered jobless. Nairobi County Head of Public Service, Jairus Musumba, addressed the media on Friday, February 3, and explained that the workers’ contracts had expired in December 2022, and the county government was unable to extend them.
But wait, before you grab your pitchforks and demand justice, Musumba wants to clarify that the 700 employees were not fired, but instead “released from various stations across the county.” He stated, “I want to confirm that we have not sacked any employee. The contracts they entered with NMS ended in December 2022.”
However, the NMS President Enforcement Officer, Wabuyabo Alex, had a different story to tell. He expressed his disappointment with the county government and claimed that the workers were treated unfairly. Wabuyabo stated that Governor Johnson Sakaja had promised to retain the employees in the county and signed a deal with NMS during the transition. He argued, “These workers were employed professionally by the Public Service Commission for a contract of three years. Sakaja and NMS signed a deal during the transition, with the governor promising to absorb the staff.”
Hamisa Said, Vice President of NMS, added that most of the employees were being trained on the county functions, and releasing them from work showed that the training was done without a proper employment plan. The NMS employees called on Governor Sakaja to reconsider his decision, as their families were the most affected. Some lamented that they were unable to take their children to school. Said posed the question, “We cannot accept to be trained for three months on the by-laws and then released. Where will we go?”
It’s a sad ending for the NMS employees, who officially transferred their functions to Governor Sakaja on September 30, 2022. The defunct body was in charge of overseeing the health, transport, and planning functions in the county, before former Governor Mike Sonko signed a deed of transfer.
