(MALABA, KENYA) – Several trade unions in the transport sector have launched a joint campaign to advocate better working conditions, fair pay and enhanced safety for long distance truck drivers operating across Kenya and Uganda.
They include the Transport Workers Union Kenya (TAWU), the Long Distance Drivers and Conductors Association (LDDCA), the Kenya Heavy Commercial Vehicle Operators Society (KHCVOPS) and Uganda’s Amalgamated Transport and General Workers’ Union (ATGWU).
The unions are encouraging drivers to register with social protection schemes, including the Social Health Authority (SHA) and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
Speaking at the Malaba border during the national launch of labour and social protection for long distance truck drivers, the trade unions urged employers to adhere to statutory minimum wages.
They also called on the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection to conduct regular inspections in the sector and enforce compliance with statutory minimum regulation to prevent exploitation of truck drivers.
The unions have also advocated for reinstatement of turnboys (assistants) to help mitigate fatigue and health issues affecting long distance drivers who are forced to drive long hours, long distances and occasionally encounter delays at the border points with long queues of trucks awaiting clearances.
“We are also urging member states along the Northern Corridor to address Non Tariff Barriers (NTBs) to ensure faster and easy movement of trucks, we appreciate the government of Kenya for reducing security checkpoints which were causing unnecessary delays,” they noted.
TAWU General Secretary, Nicholus Otieno, said that the trade unions are working towards establishing a sectoral Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Kenya Transporters Association (KTA), drawing from a successful model in South Africa, to ensure harmonised pay across the industry.
He voiced concern over arbitrary salary deductions for fuel consumption and criticised the widespread practice of paying salaries via mobile money platforms like M Pesa, noting that off the record digital transfers leave drivers underpaid, obscure audit trails and hinder enrolment in SHA and NSSF.
Dennis Oloro, National Chairman of Uganda’s Amalgamated Transport and General Workers’ Union (ATGWU), praised the campaign, noting that social protection is important for transport workers as they will eventually retire and need financial support.
“We are going to work together as trade unions from Uganda and Kenya to ensure drivers are respected because the value of goods they transport runs into millions of shillings. That value cannot be compared with what drivers are paid or how they are treated by their employers,” he noted.
He asked drivers to join trade unions in order to have stronger bargaining power and representation in order to address the challenges they face as they continue with their work.
On safety of drivers, KHCVOPS President Sudi Kauli Mwatela urged the East African Community (EAC) to establish a joint security team along the Northern Corridor, particularly in high risk zones like South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo where drivers face harassment and fatal attacks.
The LDDCA Chairman Elijah Nyagah called on regional leaders to recognise the crucial economic contributions of long distance truck drivers and take decisive action to safeguard their well being.
He said the transport industry plays a critical role in the movement of goods across the Northern Corridor yet long distance truck drivers are overlooked and subjected to poor working conditions that affect their mental health.
“Longer working hours, barriers, distance travelled, long queues, poor salary and insecurity along the Congo route and South Sudan put many long distance truck drivers at risk of battling mental health, we need to address these challenges so that our drivers can work comfortably,” he noted.