Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers v Director General/CEO, Kenya National Library Service (Cause E129 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 358 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court ruled that CBA benefit claims start counting from when the agreement is registered, not when an employee retires.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Limitation under Section 90 of the Employment Act
The suit is not statute barred because the cause of action accrued in December 2021 when the CBA was registered and arrears fell due, and the claim was filed in February 2024, within three years
The Respondent argued the cause of action arose on the grievant's early retirement effective 3rd March 2020, so the claim was time barred by March 2023. The Court found that the arrears claimed flowed from the CBAs (2012-2021), which were only registered with the 2017-2021 CBA registered on 16th October 2021 and implemented in December 2021 when other employees were paid. The benefits only became payable then, so limitation ran from December 2021 and the claim filed on 19th February 2024 was in time.
Whether the claim ought to have been filed in the Magistrates' Court under the Gazette Notice
No - the claim is a trade dispute that went through conciliation under the Labour Relations Act, 2007, lodged by a union on behalf of a member, and is not affected by the Kshs. 80,000/= salary limit
The Respondent relied on Gazette Notice No. 6024 of 10th June 2018 to argue that the matter belonged in the Magistrates' Court because the grievant earned less than Kshs. 80,000/=. The Court held that the issues had been placed before a conciliator and gone through conciliation as a trade dispute under the Labour Relations Act, and that a union claim on behalf of a member is in every sense a trade dispute, not an ordinary claim subject to the salary ceiling. The suit was therefore properly before the ELRC.
Legal principles established
#- Where benefits claimed under CBAs only became payable on registration of the CBAs, the cause of action accrues on registration/when payment fell due, not on the employee's retirement
- A union claim that has gone through conciliation as a Trade Dispute under the Labour Relations Act is not subject to the Kshs. 80,000/= salary ceiling in the Gazette Notice conferring jurisdiction on the Magistrates' Court
Court orders
#- 1.The Respondent's Notice of Preliminary Objection dated 22nd April, 2024 is dismissed
- 2.Costs of the objection to the Claimant
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction under the Labour Relations Act, 2007 and Employment Act, 2007 (Section 90 limitation invoked in the objection)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers v Director General/CEO, Kenya National Library Service (Cause E129 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 358 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the excerpt (Employment and Labour Relations Court Cause). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/358/eng@2025-02-13
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.