Kenya Union of Commercial, Food and Allied Workers v Eldoret Packers Limited (Cause E011 of 2021) [2025] KEELRC 1365 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court confirmed it can force an employer to sign a CBA and set its terms when the employer refuses to negotiate in good faith.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether or not the court should adopt the proposals by the Claimant and compel the Respondent to sign the CBA
Key legal issues
#Whether the court can compel an employer to sign a CBA and impose terms
Yes - collective bargaining is a constitutional fundamental right; where an employer refuses to bargain, the court adjudicating a referred trade dispute may determine the terms of the CBA
Article 41(5) entrenches collective bargaining in the Bill of Rights, enforceable under Article 22 with remedies under Article 23(3). Section 57(1) of the Labour Relations Act mandatorily requires an employer with a recognition agreement to conclude a CBA. The dispute went through conciliation and a Certificate of Unresolved Dispute was issued; under Part IX of the Act the ELRC adjudicates the dispute, including the economic terms. The Respondent deliberately refused to submit counter-proposals, cooperate with the conciliator, or engage the CPPMD.
Terms of the CBA to be awarded
Court awarded 6% general wage increase per year, 15% house allowance, 21 days annual leave, and other terms per statute, Wages Guidelines and the CPPDU Report, effective 1st June 2025
Guided by minimum statutory terms, the Wages Guidelines, the CPPMD economic report showing a 14.32% rise in cost of living, and the parties' last CBA, and noting the Respondent's refusal to submit proposals, the court fixed terms item by item, deferring bonus, lunch/meals and gratuity to future negotiations.
Legal principles established
#- Collective bargaining under Article 41(5) of the Constitution is a fundamental right enforceable under Article 22, and the ELRC has jurisdiction to impose terms of a CBA where conciliation fails
- Section 57(1) of the Labour Relations Act mandatorily obliges an employer with a recognition agreement to conclude a CBA
Court orders
#- 1.Court adopts terms of the 2020-2022 Collective Bargaining Agreement as awarded, including: statutory minimum wages for new employees; general wage increase of 6% each year per the Wages Guidelines and CPPDU Report; house allowance of 15% of basic pay; probation period, hours of work and overtime as per union proposal; annual leave of 21 days per year; sick, maternity, paternity, compassionate leave, uniforms, protective clothing, medical treatment, redundancy, warning, termination, summary dismissal, salary advance, funeral expenses, certificate of service, retirement at 60 years with benefits at 15 days per year worked, union leave of up to 5 days, bonus, acting appointment, gratuity and agency fee as variously awarded or deferred to future CBA
- 2.Effective date and duration of the CBA fixed at 1st June 2025
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 41(5) of the Constitution; sections 12(2) and (3) of the ELRC Act; sections 57(1) and 65 of the Labour Relations Act
Relief refused
#Adoption of Claimant's proposals wholesale on some items
The court awarded terms based on statutory minimums, the Wages Guidelines, the CPPDU Report and the parties' last CBA rather than the union's proposals in full; some items deferred
Costs
Not stated in the judgment
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
in implementing the right of a trade union to collective bargaining, the court is enforcing a fundamental right and freedom under the Bill of Rights and the court has jurisdiction to do so under the constitution, the Labour Relations Act and the ELRC Act.
section 57(1) of the Labour Relations Act provides that an employer who has entered into a recognition agreement with a trade union SHALL conclude a collective bargaining agreement with the recognized trade union. The use of the word “shall” implies that it is mandatory.
the Respondent deliberately refused to cooperate in the negotiations of the CBA by refusing to submit its counter proposals to the unions proposals, by refusing to cooperate during conciliation before the conciliator appointed by the Minister under section 65 of the Labour relations Act
The court awards 6% each year based on the Wages Guidelines, the CPPDU Report. Each employee is to be brought to the minimum rate before being awarded general wage increase
Efiective Date and Duration 1st June 2025 DATED, SIGNED AND DELIVERED VIRTUALLY ON THIS 9TH DAY OF MAY 2025
Issues in the judgment
#Numbering of paragraphs irregular (numbering jumps from 39 to 41 within the quoted Court of Appeal extract, and back)
Department named inconsistently as CPPMD and CPPDU in the award section
Claimant and Respondent names never stated; referred to only descriptively
No costs order appears in the judgment despite the Claimant's prayer for costs
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (1)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
- Ojwang v Vectorcom Control and Supplies Limited (Appeal E017 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 2206 (KLR)[2025] KEELRC 2206 (KLR)24 Jul 2025followed
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kenya Union of Commercial, Food and Allied Workers v Eldoret Packers Limited (Cause E011 of 2021) [2025] KEELRC 1365 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Memorandum of Claim dated 19th February 2021. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/1365/eng@2025-05-09
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.