No money, more security problems – Kenyan police officers resign en masse

There has been a mass exit in Kenya’s police force after pay cut by the National Police Service Commission last week. Over 1,400 graduate and disabled officers have started resigning from their positions after their salaries were slashed by as much as half, local media, the Daily Nation reports.

The adjustments were made this month although a court order has directed the government not to implement the reviews by the NPSC.

Mobile phone salary notifications of some of these officers show that a majority of them have had their take-home pay reduced by up to Sh26,000 ($258), while others would get nothing. Graduate police officers who have been enjoying better pay would now have to earn like their colleagues.

“It is not fair for them to reduce our salaries without even giving us notices,” one of the officers told the Nation.

Meanwhile, the Central Organisation of Trade Unions Kenya has condemned the move, saying it is against the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 95 on the protection of wages.

“Under the country’s labour laws, one’s pay cannot be reduced without discussions between the worker and the employer,” Cotu Secretary-General Francis Atwoli was quoted by the Nation on Sunday.

“This unilateral decision is unfair.”

For now, some of the officers are brooding over the issue as only those who have served for 12 years are eligible for terminal benefits.