Employees represented by the Kenya Electrical Trades and Allied Workers Union (KETAWU) have spoken out against the proposed layoffs by the Kenyan Power, claiming that they were not included in the process.
The Voluntary Employee Separation (VES) program will layoff 1,962 employees and replace them with 830 younger colleagues at a lower cost, according to the power supplier’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Rosemary Oduor.
“The company, because of low attrition rate, has an ageing and expensive workforce resulting in staff cost growing at nearly twice the rate of revenue growth,” Oduor previously said in an internal circular dated January 24.
The scheme will be implemented from May to June 2023, and the existing Kenya Power personnel count of 9,843 will be reduced to 8,711. Kenya Power will also lose Ksh5.3 billion as a result of the exercise.
Oduor further said; “In an environment where low operational costs and agility are critical requirements, productivity and quality of service have been negatively impacted.’’
The corporation slashed its commercial and technical losses in January, paving the way for the much-publicized 15% reduction in electricity rates.
The corporation is also likely to play a key role in Kenyans‘ search for lower-cost electricity, with the Ministry of Energy now scheduled to facilitate talks between the utility and independent power producers (IPPs) on the review of power purchase agreements (PPAs).