Social Dialogue to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals: country brief KENYA

In Kenya, the impact of social dialogue on sustainable development and on the transition to the formal economy has seen some achievements for a series of informal economy workers such as domestic workers, street vendors and the tea and flower pickers. Social dialogue enabled the agreement on a minimum wage increase of 18 per cent for domestic workers in the biggest cities of the country, meaning that their salaries went from USD30 to USD130. Social dialogue also made it possible to formulate five labour laws that apply to all workers, be they informal or formal, meaning that they have equal rights and should receive equal pay for work of equal value. Tea and flower pickers’ union negotiated a collective bargaining agreement with the sector’s employers resulting in a 23 per cent pay rise for the workers and a 28 per cent house allowance increase.