Banking Insurance & Finance Union (Kenya) v Access Bank (Kenya) PLC (Employment and Labour Relations Cause E948 of 2021) [2023] KEELRC 2870 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Access Bank must pay its unionised staff salary and allowance increases under the 2021 banking CBA, plus arrears, despite an earlier settlement.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the Respondent is bound to implement the CBA dated August 19, 2021 in addition to the consent dated March 16, 2021
The consent related only to the earlier 2019 CBA; the Respondent is separately obligated to implement the subsequent 2021 CBA.
The consent of March 16, 2021 resolved a dispute over the CBA dated September 10, 2019 and its harmonisation schedule covered the period to February 2021 with a wage reopener. The suit is based on the later CBA dated August 19, 2021, which did not exist when the consent was signed and is therefore not covered by it. The two instruments cover different benefits under different agreements, with different entry points and sliding scales.
Whether the Respondent, as a member of the Kenya Bankers Association, is bound by the CBA negotiated between the Claimant and the Association
Yes; the Respondent is bound by virtue of Appendix 'A' to the CBA listing member banks.
The Respondent is a member of the Kenya Bankers Association and appears at No. 1 on the list of member banks in Appendix 'A' to the CBA. Under section 59 of the Labour Relations Act, a collective agreement binds employers who are members of an employers' organisation party to the agreement, and its terms are incorporated into the contracts of employment of covered employees. It becomes enforceable upon registration.
Legal principles established
#- A collective agreement becomes enforceable and binding upon registration by the Industrial Court, and binds employers who are members of the employers' organisation party to the agreement.
Court orders
#- 1.The Respondent be and is hereby directed to immediately compute and pay all the unionisable employees of the bank who are covered by the CBA a 4% salary increment with effect from March 1, 2020 and a further 3% salary increment effective 1st March, 2021 together with ensuing arrears
- 2.The Respondent is directed to immediately compute and pay all unionisable employees covered by the CBA 6% increment on all the allowances as contained in the CBA from 1st March 2020 together with ensuing arrears
- 3.The above payments will be in addition to the payments due and payable under the consent between the parties signed on March 16, 2021
- 4.Each Party shall bear its costs of this suit
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 59(5) and Section 60(5) of the Labour Relations Act, No. 14 of 2007 and Article 41(5) of the Constitution of Kenya
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Banking Insurance & Finance Union (Kenya) v Access Bank (Kenya) PLC (Employment and Labour Relations Cause E948 of 2021) [2023] KEELRC 2870 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2023). Not stated in judgment (Memorandum of Claim dated November 16, 2021). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2023/2870/eng@2023-11-02
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.