The Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) has said that almost 300,000 people in Uasin Gishu County have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
COTU Chairperson, Uasin Gishu branch Peter Odima, now wants the national government through the Ministry of Labour, to look at ways that will help ensure the people are re-employed.
According to Odima, many workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic period were also not paid their salaries.

The COTU Uasin Gishu boss further said it has been a challenge for them to solve the issue. He condemned the Ministry of Labour for failing to act and help the affected workers.
“Uasin Gishu is the bedroom of food, it means there will be hunger in future because the government has not put across possible plans to tackle this issue,” Odima said.
“If Labour Commissioner has slept on the job, he must wake up or else we will go to the Court so that we know he is the one who has wasted the Kenyan workers,” he added.

According to a report released by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the economic backlash of the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out some 81 million jobs in 2020 globally, in nearly all economies with available quarterly data for 2020, employment levels contracted compared to 2019.
Another report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) revealed that at least 2 million Kenyans lost their jobs during the past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic period.
As a result of the massive job loss, at least 10 million households were affected, the report said.