Posta Kenya Workers Down Tools Over Six-Month Salary Arrears
Nyeri, Kenya, October 27, 2025 – Operations at the Postal Corporation of Kenya (Posta Kenya) have been paralyzed after workers across the country downed their tools to protest six months of unpaid salaries and unremitted statutory deductions.
According to the Communication Workers Union of Kenya (COWU), the employees will not resume work until their salary arrears are cleared in full. The Central Region Branch Secretary, Solomon Shikanda, said the workers had exhausted all avenues of dialogue with management but had received no positive response.
“We have performed our duties diligently, yet we have gone for months without pay. We have said enough is enough. Until our salaries are paid in full, we shall not resume work,” said Shikanda during a press briefing in Nyeri.
The strike follows the expiry of a notice issued by COWU over a month ago, urging the government to settle a KSh 1.5 billion debt owed to Posta workers. Last week, COWU Secretary General Benson Okwaro had given the government until October 26 to clear the arrears, warning that industrial action would commence on October 27 if no payment was made.
Shikanda said the prolonged salary delays had subjected staff to extreme hardship, with many suffering from stress, depression, and financial instability. “It is difficult to survive without pay in these harsh economic times. Many of us are in debt, rent is in arrears, and some staff have been forced to ask their children in universities to defer studies,” he lamented.
He further urged the government to help Posta recover outstanding debts from other agencies to ease the corporation’s financial burden. “Huduma Centre owes us KSh 1.6 billion in rent arrears dating back to 2013, while the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) owes KSh 400 million for transporting election materials during the 2022 General Election. Those two payments alone could clear our arrears and fund salaries for another year,” Shikanda noted.
The union insisted that the strike is not about seeking a pay rise but demanding basic labour rights. “We are only asking for what we have rightfully earned under Kenyan labour laws,” Shikanda emphasized, adding that workers would return to work once all grievances are addressed.
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