NSSF sued over house-girls plan

Photo/FILE The move would see employers remit Sh400 per month to the fund for every domestic worker. 

By PAUL OGEMBA pogemba@ke.nationmedia.com
Monday, June 3   2013 

 

 

 

In Summary

• The move would see employers remit Sh400 per month to the fund for every domestic worker.

A legal battle looms between the State pension fund and a lobby over the planned door-to-door registration of domestic workers.

The Urban Tenants Association of Kenya has filed an urgent petition, claiming the directive seeking to enforce a mandatory listing of the workers amounts to invasion of privacy, and poses threats to security of employers.

Through lawyer Oluoch Awino, the lobby argues that the National Social Security Fund’s planned action is not backed by any law.

“NSSF has other mechanisms and means of achieving the same purpose instead of invading the applicants’ homes. Their intended action cannot pass the test of judicial scrutiny since it will infringe on the rights of the owners of the houses,” said Mr Awino.

The lobby wants an order barring the fund or its agents from conducting the inspection until the suit is heard and determined.

The fund last month announced that it would inspect residential houses to enforce mandatory registration of domestic workers in a bid to cover all employees.

The move would see authorised officers carry out a countrywide exercise expected to register three million workers.

Among those targeted are househelps, herdsboys, gardeners and drivers.

The move would see employers remit Sh400 per month to the fund for every domestic worker.

The tenants’ lobby, however, argues that the fund has not outlined the procedure it will use or the people who will be involved in the exercise — a move it claims will open avenues for criminals to take advantage of the exercise at the expense of employers.

The petition was supported by the affidavit of the lobby’s secretary-general Ephraim Murigo, who swore that the move was unconstitutional since it offended the people’s core democratic values.

“NSSF has not given the public any legal undertaking to compensate any person who will suffer loss or damage occasioned by the inspection. It has not even bothered to publish the photographs of officers who will be carrying out the exercise in widely circulated newspapers as demanded by law,” swore Mr Murigo.

Right to social security
He said although the Constitution guaranteed all citizens a right to social security, the mode in which the fund wanted to undertake it would damage the whole intention of the exercise.

He argued that the law did not allow anyone to arbitrarily invade another’s privacy and urged the fund to suspend the move for the sake of public safety, economic well-being, prevention of public disorder and protection of heath and morals.