[2018] KEELRC 150 (KLR)
The court found that the Claimant's proposal of 50% of basic pay as house allowance was excessive and unsupported by special circumstances. The statutory minimum of 15% as provided by Section 31 of the Employment Act was deemed appropriate as a starting point for negotiations. The court also determined that 1st...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2018] KEELRC 150 (KLR)
- Parties
- Applicant: Banking Insurance & Finance Union; Respondent: Taifa Sacco Society Limited
- Court
- Employment and Labour Relations Court
- Court Station
- Employment and Labour Relations Court at Nyeri
- Jurisdiction
- Kenya
- Case Number
- Cause 58 of 2013
- Procedural Posture
- Employment Claim / Ruling
- Outcome
- Claim partly allowed; directions issued for execution and registration of CBA.
- Judges
- AN Makau
- Legal Topics
- Collective Bargaining Agreement, House Allowance, Effective Date of Cba, Provident Fund, Medical Allowance
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Banking Insurance & Finance Union
Applicant
Taifa Sacco Society Limited
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Employment Claim / Ruling
Legal Issues
- 1 What is the appropriate effective date for the collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
- 2 What is the lawful and reasonable rate for house allowance under the CBA.
Ratio Decidendi
The court found that the Claimant's proposal of 50% of basic pay as house allowance was excessive and unsupported by special circumstances. The statutory minimum of 15% as provided by Section 31 of the Employment Act was deemed appropriate as a starting point for negotiations. The court also determined that 1st January 2018 was a fair and reasonable effective date for the CBA, given the protracted nature of the dispute. The court directed the parties to execute and register the CBA within 15 days, warning that any party causing delay would be liable for costs.
Court Disposition
Claim partly allowed; directions issued for execution and registration of CBA.
Orders
- The parties shall execute the CBA and offer it for registration within 15 days.
- Any party in default or causing delay in initiating the process will be liable for costs.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
15 paragraphs
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
IN THE EMPLOYMENT & LABOUR RELATIONS
COURT OF KENYA AT NYERI
CASE NO. 58 OF 2013
BANKING INSURANCE &FINANCE UNION.............CLAIMANT
VERSUS
TAIFA SACCO SOCIETY LIMITED.........................RESPONDENT
RULING
1. The Claimant seeks interposition of the Court in the matter of the CBA negotiated between the parties. The only issues the Claimant submits are for determination are the effective date, the house allowance, the medical allowance and the provident fund. The Respondent agrees that there are some pending issues for resolution and asserts that these are capable of resolution if parties sit and negotiate. The Claimant proposes the effective date as 1st January 2018 and states that it took 7 years to get to this point as a result of the anti-union attitude of the Respondent. It proposes 50% of basic as house allowance. The Union agrees that the medical allowance proposal by the Respondent as well as the provident fund proposal of 10% contribution by each (employee and employer) is agreeable. That whittles the matters in dispute to only two – effective date and the matter of the house allowance.
2. The Employment Act under Section 31 makes provision on house allowance. It gives 15% of the basic as the basis for house allowance. The Claimant has not availed any special circumstances that would require the payment of 50% of basic pay as house allowance. This is too high and as the law makes the proposal for a minimum of 15% of basic, the parties can commence from this base and build up as they negotiate over the coming years. The effective date is proposed as 1st January 2018 and this is a fair effective date as this matter has dragged on unnecessarily. In view of the court the ability to negotiate will be less problematic once the CBA commences.
3. The parties should execute the CBA and offer it for registration within the next 15 days. Any party in default or causing any delay in initiating the process will be liable for costs.
It is so ordered.
Dated and delivered at Nyeri this 11th day of December 2018
Nzioki wa Makau
JUDGE