https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2026/1697

Kenya National Private Security Workers Union v Papaton Security Services Ltd (Cause E033 of 2025) [2026] KEELRC 1697 (KLR) (18 June 2026) (Judgment) Neutral citation: [2026] KEELRC 1697 (KLR) Republic of Kenya In the Employment and Labour Relations Court at Kakamega Cause E033 of 2025 DN Nderitu, J June 18, 2026 Between Kenya National Private Security Workers Union Claimant and Papaton Security Services Ltd Respondent Judgment I. Introduction 1.The Claimant, a duly registered trade union, commenced this cause on behalf of its members (the Grievants) by way of a memorandum of claim dated 22nd September 2025 seeking for various reliefs –i.The Respondents be directed to comply with the mandatory provisions of Section 48 of the Labour Relations Act, with regard to union dues.ii.The Respondents be directed to issue payslips capturing all the deductions.iii.The Respondents be directed to issue contract letters to its employees.iv.The Respondents be directed to remit the Government statutory deductions PAYE, NHIF/SHA and NSSF.v.The Respondent and or its agents be prohibited from hiring goons to assault workers, victimizing, mistreating, harassing, declaring redundant, wrongfully dismissing or unfairly terminating the contract of employment of the claimant’s members whose names appear in the checkoff notices.vi.The respondent be directed to pay the grievant as follows:Accumulated salary Arrears.Underpayment of wages.Gratuity/severance pay.Accumulated overtime.NSSF and NHIF/SHA arrears.vii.The respondent and or its agents be prohibited from discrimination the unionized employees and forcefully removing them from the union.viii.The respondent be ordered to pay workers the Government Stipulated Wages (General) (Amendment) Order 2018.ix.The honourable court be pleased to grant such orders or relief as it deems fit and just in the circumstances.x.That the cost be provided for by the respondent. 2.The memorandum of claim was accompanied with a verifying affidavit sworn by Isaac G. M. Adabwa on even date, a witness statement by the same individual, a list and copies of the listed documents. 3.Contemporaneously, the Claimant filed a Notice of Motion (the application) of even date seeking for various orders as follows –1.This application be certified urgent and be heard on priority and exparte in the first instance.2.Pending the hearing and determination of this motion inter parties and suit thereafter, this Honourable court do issue orders directing the Respondent by itself or by its Board members or by its agents to pay all the Grievants the outstanding salary arrears, overtime together with all the outstanding terminal dues.3.Pending the hearing and determination of this motion inter parties and suit thereafter, this Honourable Court do issue orders restraining the Respondent by itself or by its Board members or by its agents from victimizing, mistreating, harassing, intimidating and hiring goons to assault workers whenever workers demand for their rightful pay.4.Pending the hearing and determination of this motion inter parties and suit thereafter, this Honourable Court do issue orders directing the Respondent by itself or by its Board Members to deduct and remit union dues from all the unionised members and remit all outstanding arrears.5.Pending the hearing and determination of this motion inter parties and suit thereafter, this Honourable Court do issue orders directing the Respondent by itself or by its Board members to issue payslips and written contract letters to the workers.6.The Respondent be hereby restrained from:a.Subjecting workers into unfair labour practices (terms and conditions of employment.)b.Victimizing, mistreatment, harassment and hiring goons whenever workers demand for their rightful pay.c.Carrying on redundancies without following proper procedures.7.The respondent be hereby directed to:a.Pay wages in accordance with Government minimum wage guidelines.b.Remit Government statutory deduction PAYE, NHIF/SHA and NSSFc.Pay salaries arrears of all the employees.d.Issue pay slips workers.8.The Respondents to bear the costs of this application in any event. 4.Upon the court being satisfied with the service of the memorandum of claim and the application and, upon the Respondent failing to respond to both, the court on 29th September 2025 allowed the application pending the hearing and determination of the cause in the following terms –i.There is evidence as per the affidavit of service that the respondent has been served with the court process and the application.ii.The respondent has not replied to the cause and the application.iii.Pending the hearing and determination of the main cause the respondent is hereby ordered:a.To pay all salary arrears to the grievants up to September, 2025 and issue pay slips to date.b.The Respondent is restrained by itself, employees, agents or servants from victimizing, harassing or mistreating the grievants.iv.The cause shall be fixed for hearing on priority basis.v.Hearing on 22nd October, 2025 virtually.vi.Hearing notice to issue and be served by the Claimant. 5.The cause came up for formal proof on 22nd October 2025 when Isaac G. M. Adabwa (CW1) testified and the Claimant closed its case. Miss Wanyama conducted the matter for the Claimant. 6.As indicated above, the Respondent though duly served did not respond to the claim. II. The Claimant’s Case 7.The Claimant’s case is expressed in the memorandum of claim, the oral and documentary evidence tendered, and the written submissions by the union representative. 8.In the memorandum of claim, it is pleaded that the Claimant is a duly registered trade union and the Respondent is introduced as a limited liability company carrying on business in the security sector and based in Kakamega. 9.It is further pleaded that in 2024 the Claimant recruited employees of the Respondent into its membership and that a recognition agreement was signed by the parties on 20th May 2024. However, it is pleaded that in spite of the foregoing, the Respondent failed and or refused to deduct and remit union dues in accordance with the recognition agreement and the law. 10.It is further pleaded that instead of the Respondent honouring the agreement and the law, it engaged in harassing, mistreating, intimidating, and discriminating its employees who voluntarily joined the Claimant. It is further pleaded that the Respondent has routinely hired goons who have injured and even killed union members whenever they confronted the Respondent demanding for their constitutional, statutory, and contractual rights. 11.It is further pleaded that the Respondent has refused to engage the Claimant at any level or form and this culminated in the Claimant filing a trade dispute with the Ministry of Labour on the following issues –a.Non issuance of pay slips (No PAYE-stealing from both the Government and workers.b.Non-payment of salaries over Thirteen (13) months.c.Non issuance of contract letters to its employees.d.Non-compliance with Government minimum wage guidelines.e.Non-payment of overtime.f.Carrying out redundancies without following proper procedures.g.Victimization, mistreatment, harassment and hiring goons whenever workers demand for their rightful pay in his office.h.Failure to remit union dues after signing a Recognition agreement.i.Unfair labour practices (terms and conditions of employment).j.Wrongful dismissals.k.Discrimination of unionisable employees.l.Non remittance of government statutory deductions PAYE, NHIF, NSSF. 12.It is pleaded that the Respondent was ordered by the Ministry to make the remittances based on the recognition agreement. It is further pleaded that besides its failure to collect and remit union dues, the Respondent has also failed to remit statutory deductions. 13.It is on the basis of the foregoing that the Claimant prayed as per the reliefs set out above. III. The Respondents’ Case 14.As stated above, the Respondent did not defend the claim notwithstanding that it was duly served. VI. The Hearing 15.During the hearing, CW1 stated that he is the National Secretary General of the Claimant and a member of the Executive Committee of the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU). He adopted his statement as filed in court and produced the filed documents as Claimant’s exhibits 1 to 14. He further reiterated the pleadings in the memorandum of claim summarized above. 16.CW1 stated that the Respondent had not paid to the Grievants their monthly salaries for over 13 months and that this had caused untold suffering and financial hardship to them resulting in their failure to take care of their families. He stated that the conduct by the Respondent is in violation of Article 41 of the Constitution. He insisted that the Respondent had failed in all the areas identified in the memorandum of claim as alluded to above, even after being served with the interim orders cited above. VII. Written Submissions 17.Miss Wanyama for the Claimant identified the following issues for determination –1.Whether there is a case for deduction and remission of Union dues to the Claimant.2.Whether the Respondent should pay the trade union dues not deducted from the claimant’s members.3.Whether the Grievant where discriminated, victimized, mistreated and harassed by the Respondents.4.Whether the reliefs sought by the Claimant should be granted.5.Whether the Claimant is entitled to the costs of this suit. 18.On the first issue, it is submitted that once a recognition agreement was signed, the Respondent was obligated to deduct and remit union dues. It is submitted that Article 36 of the Constitution gives the employees the right to associate while Article 41 gives them the right to belong to a trade union of their choice and to other fair labour practices. 19.It is further submitted that Sections 48 & 54 of the Labour Relations Act, respectively, authorize and direct on deduction and remittance of union dues and recognition of a union by an employer. It is submitted that the Respondent has blatantly violated these provisions of the law. 20.On the second issue, it is submitted that the Respondent ought to remit the union dues that were due and payable from the date of the recognition agreement to date as it is the Respondent who failed to act in accordance with the agreement and the law thereby occasioning arrears. 21.On the third issue, it is submitted that the Respondent has engaged goons to scatter and attack the Grievants whenever they gather to voice their objection to the unfair and unlawful labour practices visited upon them by the Respondent. It is submitted that the Respondent has resulted to declaring employees redundant or simply dismissing or terminating them whenever they raise their voices in defence of their rights. It is submitted that this conduct on the part of the Respondent is in contravention of Section 46 of the Labour Relations Act and against many international labour standards as pronounced by the International Labour Organization (ILO). 22.It is submitted that the Respondent is in contempt of the interim orders issued by this court on 22nd September 2025. The court is urged to be persuaded by the decision in KUDHEIHA V Aga khan University Hospital (2015) eKLR to the effect that remittance of union dues is a legal obligation on an employer for employees who have voluntarily exercised their right to join a trade union of their choice. 23.On the fourth issue, it is submitted that since the Respondent was duly informed of its employees who joined the union and records availed, its failure to act ought not be used to punish the Grievants with hefty deductions at once. The court is urged to instead order the Respondent to make good all the outstanding dues from its own resources. 24.On the fifth issue, it is submitted that the termination of some of the Grievants was carried out and effected in contravention of Sections 41, 42, 43, & 45 of the Employment Act. 25.On the sixth issue, it is submitted that the Respondent has infringed on the rights of the Grievants as enumerated above and that the reliefs sought should be granted to remedy the violations and infringement of those rights as alluded to above. The court is urged to apply the powers granted to it under Sections 49 & 50 of the Employment Act in granting all the reliefs as pleaded. 26.On costs, the court is urged to grant costs of the cause to the Claimant. VIII. Issues For Determination 27.The court has carefully and dutifully gone through the statement of claim, the attached documentary evidence, the oral evidence by the Claimant through CW1, and the filed written submissions. 28.Notwithstanding that the claim is undefended, it was incumbent upon the Claimant to prove the cause on a balance of probabilities. 29.The evidence placed before the court confirms that a recognition agreement was executed by and between the parties on 20th May 2024. Subsequently, the Respondent failed and or refused to engage forcing the Claimant to refer the trade dispute to the Minister of Labour on a variety of issues as pleaded in the memorandum of claim. 30.The Respondent failed and or refused to appear before the appointed Conciliator, the Labour Officer Kakamega and, on 24th February 2025 the Conciliator issued a certificate of unresolved dispute in accord with Section 69(a) of the Labour Relations Act. 31.The Claimant availed and produced documents in support of the claim including – a copy of the recognition agreement, a duly signed list of the names of its members working with the Respondent, the union dues deductions forms for the said members, correspondences sent to the Respondent by the Conciliator and, the Certificate of Unresolved Dispute issued by the Conciliator. 32.The Respondent failed, refused, and or neglected to engage the Claimant after the execution of the Recognition agreement. Likewise, the Respondent failed to engage and or appear before the Conciliator. Moreover, the Respondent neither appeared in these proceedings nor filed a defence. It is also the evidence by the Claimant that the Respondent has failed and or refused to obey the interim orders issued by the court on 29th September 2025. 33.The above abhorrent conduct somehow portrays the Respondent as an entity not keen to abiding by the rule of law and or willing to be bound by its own legal and contractual obligations. It is not an admirable conduct, to say the least. 34.Be that as it may, the following issues commend themselves to the court for determination –a.Did the Claimant prove its case on a balance of probabilities?b.Is the Claimant entitled to the reliefs sought?c.Who should bear the costs of the cause? IV. Merits Of The Cause 35.As stated in the foregoing paragraphs of this judgment, the Respondent did not defend this cause and the oral and documentary evidence as tendered by the Claimant stands unchallenged. In my considered view, the Claimant proved that it has a recognition agreement with the Respondent executed on 24th May 2024. After the signing of this agreement, differences arose after the Respondent failed and or refused to engage with the Claimant on a variety of issues. The matter was subsequently referred to the Minister for reconciliation but the Respondent again failed and or refused to appear and or engage. The Conciliator issued a certificate of unresolved trade dispute dated 24th February 2025, to the effect that the Respondent had failed and or refused to engage and attend the meetings to resolve the issues in the dispute. 36.The court finds and holds that based on the materials placed before it – the pleadings, the oral and documentary evidence, and the written submissions – the Claimant indeed proved its case to the extent that – the Respondent has failed and or refused to deduct and remit union dues; the Respondent has failed to issue its employees with pay-slips; and, the Respondent has failed to issue its employees with written contracts of employment. 37.In the considered view of the court, the Respondent appears to be not an employer oriented towards improving industrial peace and harmony. Also the Respondent does not come along as a law-abiding entity. I hope and trust that the orders issued herein shall be complied with. V.Reliefs 35.Clearly and evidently, the Respondent has engaged in conduct that is unbecoming of a heathy and harmonious industrial peace. Once the recognition agreement was executed by and between the parties, the Respondent was legally bound to engage with the Claimant and resolve any disputes that arose. As an employer, the Respondent is eternally obligated not to engage in unfair labour practices as prohibited under Article 41 of the Constitution and the various provisions of the Employment Act and other employment and labour relations statutes, rules, and regulations. 36.However, as stated elsewhere in this judgment, it was upon the Claimant to prove each and every aspect of the claim to the required standards. For example, where the Claimant pleaded for salary arrears, such arrears ought to have been computed, pleaded, and proved. The same applies to underpayment of salary/wages, gratuity/severance pay, accumulated overtime pay, and the arrears on statutory deductions. It is not enough to just state the claim and present the same to the court in the wrong assumption that the court shall rubberstamp and allow the same. It is a cardinal presumption of the law that he/she who alleges shall prove. VI.Orders 38.Flowing from all the foregoing, the court issues the following orders –a.The Respondent be and is hereby ordered to without fail deduct and remit union dues to the Claimant in accordance with the law with effect from the next month following the date of this judgment.b.The Respondent be and is hereby ordered to issue ALL of its employees with written contracts/letters of employment forthwith and in any event within 30 days of this judgment.c.The Respondent be and is hereby ordered to forthwith and in any event within 30 days of this judgment issue ALL its employees with monthly pay-slips and deduct and remit all statutory deductions to the relevant institutions.d.The Respondent by itself, agents, servants, and or others however is hereby prohibited from harassing, intimidating, or in any other manner interfering with the Grievant’s right to engaging in lawful union activities and or taking adverse or unlawful action against them for such legally recognized union activities.e.The Respondent is hereby ordered to engage with the Claimant and calculate any pending salary arrears, underpayments, gratuity/severance pay, accumulated overtime, and have the same settled within 60 days of this judgment.f.The Respondent is hereby ordered to pay to ALL its employees wages and salaries in accord with the applicable Government’s minimum wages regulations as declared from time to time.g.Costs of the cause to the Claimant.h.The Respondent shall issue certificate of service to ALL those employees who may have left employment under whatever circumstances in accord with Section 51 of the Employment Act. DELIVERED VIRTUALLY, DATED, AND SIGNED AT KAKAMEGA THIS 18TH DAY OF JUNE 2026.………………………….DAVID NDERITUJUDGEELRC KAKAMEGA